Situated on the edge of the Rocinha favela neighbourhood, the largest favela in Rio (and Brazil) and home to over 70,000 people, the sports complex has played a central role in the regeneration of the area since it was opened in March 2010.
As well as providing a football field, the centre also offers opportunities for children and Rocinha locals to enjoy a host of sports including boxing, judo, volleyball, tennis, swimming and skateboarding. The complex also provides a 24hr Accident & Emergency unit, a family clinic and a psychosocial clinic.
"The visit to the Rocinha Sports Complex provided an incredible insight"
Jack Wilshere
During the visit the players, joined by Director of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking and Club England Managing Director Adrian Bevington, met with a group of children that benefit from the invaluable service Complexo Esportivo da Rocinha provides to the local community, as well as staff that help to run the facility.
The England squad has also announced that it will donate a significant five figure sum to the Complexo Esportivo da Rocinha, through the England Footballers Foundation charity.
Speaking after the visit, Jack Wilshere said: “The entire squad is keen to gain an appreciation of our surroundings and experience the culture of Brazil during our time here. The visit to the Rocinha Sports Complex provided an incredible insight into the unique and powerful role sport plays in this country.
“With one of the poorest areas of the city situated just metres away, the complex provides an opportunity, through sport, for residents of the favela to transform and enrich their lives.”
And Adam Lallana added: “From what we’ve seen and heard today, the Rocinha Sports Complex has helped to completely transform one of the poorest and potential violent areas of Rio. The facility provides an incredible opportunity for children to enjoy the simple pleasures of sport – and in doing so can help to take their lives in the right direction.
“It was an honour for the players to be invited to the centre"
Adam Lallana
“It was an honour for the players to be invited to the centre today.”
During the visit, the players and FA representatives met staff and children involved at the project to learn more about the work it undertakes in the local community in Rio. The players will also help coach teams in a mini football tournament as well as see a capoeira demonstration.
Since opening in 2010, the Rocinha Sports Complex has served as a symbol of progress in Brazil, representing the positive shift in the country’s policy towards its poorest and least privileged citizens.
Earlier in the day the England team staff and players welcomed more than 100 children, young people and local residents to their Urca training base in Rio de Janeiro as they began final preparations for their FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign.
