The deaths of 10 teenagers in a fire at Brazil’s Flamengo soccer club highlighted the precarious conditions many youngsters face as they chase the dream of becoming professional footballers.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The deaths of 10 teenagers in a fire at Brazil’s Flamengo soccer club highlighted the precarious conditions many youngsters face as they chase the dream of becoming professional footballers.
The boys, all aged between 14 and 16, were killed when a fire swept through the Flamengo training center on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro early on Friday morning. Three others were injured, one seriously.
Although Brazilian clubs are famous for producing some of the world’s greatest players, they have been criticized for the lack of care and security they provide their young charges.
Authorities have cited clubs in recent years for poor hygiene, inadequate nutrition and a lack of education and social care for youth players.
“At one club I was at we had to wait for the pros to eat and we got what was left and if there was nothing then it was tough luck,” Romario Reginaldo Alves, a 24-year old forward who spent time at the same Flamengo training ground that burnt to the ground, told Reuters.
