- Title: BRAZIL: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Women's soccer squad beats Haiti in friendly match
- Date: 25th October 2010
- Summary: TERESOPOLIS, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 24, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF BRAZIL'S SOCCER TRAINING CAMP, WHERE BRAZIL'S WOMEN'S SQUAD PLAYED A FRIENDLY MATCH AGAINST HAITI'S WOMEN'S TEAM CLOSE OF MOUNTAIN SEEN FROM FIELD VARIOUS OF HAITI'S WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM HEADING TO FIELD FOR MATCH VARIOUS OF BRAZIL'S WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM HEADING TO FIELD FOR MATCH VARIOUS
- Embargoed: 9th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA66VPT73JHXIMKTZAR09XX2YY0
- Story Text: Following a two-month training period in Brazil, Haiti's national women's soccer squad faced their final challenge on Sunday (October 24) before leaving for the World Cup qualifiers in Mexico.
Although the Brazilian squad beat the Haitian women by 6 to nothing, the game's result was what least mattered for both sides.
After surviving a massive earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands in the Caribbean island, Haiti's players were offered a Brazilian coach and two months of training on the country's best fields.
As of October 28 the Haitian team will take part in the CONCACAF tournament to compete for a spot in the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany.
Following the deadly January quake, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offered to help the country's national team a new coach and financial support to train in Brazil.
Coach Augusto Oliveira, who has been in charge of the team for the past two months, believes playing weekly friendlies in the soccer-mad country has renewed the Haitian girls' chances to make it through the championship in Mexico.
He said the match against Brazil in the country's official training camp was like "a dream come true" the Haitian squad.
"This is a dream come true, of being here and getting to know Brazil's national team's training camp and above all being able to have this contact with the Brazilian players, since they (Haitian players), love them and always follow Brazil's soccer games," he said.
Oliveira said most players improved their performance after leaving their quake-battered country, where they were constantly reminded of the tragedy that killed many of their loved ones.
Brazil's striker Marta, who was chosen twice as FIFA's number one player of the year, scored three of the six goals.
She said it brought her great joy to help their Haitian counterparts prepare for the CONCACAF cup.
"We look at Haiti's team and this makes us happy and satisfied of being able to share with them. There is no doubt that they are here to observe our team and get something positive from us, and we can also learn from them too," she said.
Haitian player Viola Noer said the result was secondary and that she was honored to play against a team she always sees on TV.
"It was great to play with Marta and Cristiane because we always see them on TV and now we are on the same field. I wanted to take a photo with them but unfortunately there was no time. But everyone was happy and we are preparing after this game for the entire group to become motivated to play the championship in Mexico," she said after the game.
FIFA recently announced a $3 million-dollar fund to help the Haitian football family for the reconstruction of the football association's headquarters, technical centers and other facilities. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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