Re: Portugal Logo Dream League 2019
Brie Hoffler
After long months of investigation, the national police and the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) on June 12 rescued around 40 young people, including 36 minors, as part of an operation called "El Dourado". The youth who are believed to be victims of human trafficking had been sequestered for years on the premises of the Bsports football academy, in the town of Riba de Ave, in the district of Famalico, northern Portugal.
The Portuguese sports world is in shock. After the operation, authorities identified five suspects, including Mario Costa, president of the general assembly of the Portuguese football league and one of the most prominent figures in Portuguese football. The alleged traffickers transferred dozens of talents to Portugal, promising them a bright future and a professional career. The young people's dream of becoming footballers quickly dissolved when they realized they had been trapped by con artists.
"This practice is typical in the football world. Large networks of human traffickers, often close to club leaders, federations or agents, work in an organized way to recruit, and then transfer thousands of young people mainly from Africa, but also from South America, to Europe. They achieve this by convincing the youth they could become professional footballers," said Pedro Santos, of the Esperana association. The organization works with young underage migrants, including some of the minors previously at the Bsports football academy.
"Most worrying is the number of cases, which is constantly increasing. The smugglers and traffickers have no limits: they will try to recruit younger and younger people, and they seize their passports and identity papers in order to keep them at all costs," he said. "The young people are then isolated and at the mercy of their traffickers."
Inspector Paulo P. of the Porto judicial police has been working on the Bsports football academy case for months. He confirmed the practice is becoming more and more frequent, with an increading number of complaints concerning cases of minors held against their will in football training structures. The authorities are trying to fight against this phenomenon despite limited means.
After being taken in by the Portuguese social services, the young footballers of the Bsport Academy are trying to rebuild a normal life after the ordeal they experienced in the private sports structure.
Abdou*, 17, from Guinea-Bissau, was recruited by an intermediary who picked him up in the capital to bring him to Portugal in the summer of 2021. Propelled by his dream of one day becoming a star at FC Barcelona, his favorite club, he played football in his neighborhood in Bissau. At the age of 14, he joined a local academy led by a Portuguese coach.
"After a few months, he told me that I had nothing to do here, and that I had to go to Europe to progress," he said. "He went on to tell me about an academy in Portugal. He said he was on good terms with its management, and he later met with my parents so that I could travel and try to realize my dream," said the adolescent.
The intermediary convinced Abdou and his parents, and managed to obtain a visa for Abdou for several months. The teenager began to imagine a brighter future for his family and himself. "I was full of enthusiasm, ready to give everything to work hard and make my family proud. Everyone contributed to paying for the plane ticket, but also for a sum which the coach asked us to pay to cover administrative costs for the visa. My parents took out a loan, and I found myself in northern Portugal in July 2021, when I was 15 years old," he said.
Once in the town of Riba d'Ave, at the Bsport Academy, Abdou met around fifty young people from Senegal, Guinea, Angola, Burkina Faso, but also from Colombia and Brazil. The first weeks went rather well, but the first worrying signs came in September.
His parents paid. Abdou continued training hard, and being given little to eat on some days, he did not complain. He spoke with some of his teammates and learned that some were under pressure from the coaches. They said they were insulted, with coaches criticizing their lack of energy and they said they had lost all confidence in themselves. Worse yet, the management had confiscated their passports and other identity documents, preventing the residents from traveling or seeing their families if the opportunity arose.
"For months, the management prevented me from talking to my family. A cousin wanted to buy me a return ticket to Bissau for a few weeks to see my family, but I no longer had access to my passport. I realized I was trapped and that I had to leave the academy which was more like a prison than anything else," said Abdou.
"I saw the light at the end of the tunnel! I spent almost two years in this mess, and I could not see an end to it. Now I have to rebuild myself and to try to live a normal life, and maybe become a footballer, if the opportunity presents itself," he said, smiling. "But I also want my experience to be of some use, for the story to be publicized in order to fight against these criminal practices. Lives are destroyed, dreams are shattered, young people and their families are exploited. It is inhumane and everything must be done to prevent it from happening," he added.
Bernd Storck, Hungary coach
Who would have thought beforehand that we'd be top on four points and Portugal would have to win to be sure of qualifying? I can't compliment my team enough. We need to continue what we've been doing in the last two matches, and we need to play with a disciplined defence. They'll put pressure on us because they're a world-class team.
Everyone's always asking about Cristiano Ronaldo. There are other world-class players in this team, who've won the Champions League and contributed a lot. Everyone will need to fight together. We need to be brave. We can't be afraid and we hope to play our style of match. It's not just about their No7.
I always try to set an example. I always prepare my team for what they will face. That's why I'm not afraid and not concerned. We always analyse all the opposition so that our players know what to expect. I don't think we're good enough to play our game and destroy Portugal so of course we'll look at them.
I'm sure [Cristiano Ronaldo] will get over everything and do what he does best. And he's always proven that what he does best is to score. I'm sure he'll be anxiety-free. He'll keep on taking free-kicks and penalties.
I don't think Hungary will play a very defensive match. They may not be dependent on other results, but a team cannot change its style of play overnight. They have hard workers and are very strong. Their main strength is they're a team. They like to move the ball around and attack. What I expect from them is what I've seen before.
UEFA.com team reporters
Matthew Watson-Broughton, Hungary (@UEFAcomMattWlB)
What a dream this is for Hungary! Who would have thought they would have qualified before kick-off in the third set of games? That is the first task. Now comes the second as they seek to secure a top-two berth. Storck may rotate his squad even if his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation will remain in place for the sake of continuity.
Joseph Walker, Portugal (@UEFAcomJoeW)
Fernando Santos and his side are in a position nobody could have envisaged when the draw was made, but the facts are simple: they are third going into the last round of Group F games. The saving grace is that this has been one of the most even sections and a win could quite feasibly take Portugal top. With a profligate 50 shots and just one goal, they will need to be clinical if they are to avoid an early exit. All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma in order to seal progress.
Did you know?
The nations' only final tournament encounter came at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Portugal prevailing 3-1 at Old Trafford in their opening game. Both teams qualified from the group, ahead of Brazil and Bulgaria. Find out more in our extensive match background.
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