La voz de los eternos suplentes: obstáculos y oportunidades en la profesionalización del fútbol colombiano

Abstract

Being a soccer player is, maybe, the common dream among children and youth around the world. However, the reality is that young talents are left behind and never get into the field; even worse, no one wonders what happened to them. It is therefore appropriate to focus on the player who does not make it. What is the story, not only of these young people, but also of those people who lost the game and had to keep the dream of being a professional soccer player in the drawer of the things that were their dreams? That is why the present work seeks to explain what obstacles and opportunities are presented to be a professional soccer player in Bogota, Colombia. For this purpose, a qualitative-exploratory research was conducted that, making use of life history, sought out different male and female players in the Colombian capital to see the opportunities that occurred during their trajectory in amateur/semi-professional soccer, to then identify the obstacles in their path and understand the reasons for their early retirement from the sport; as well as to determine the potential for equal opportunities to be a professional soccer player in Bogota.