The most promising region of Costa Rica in the 21^st century has not been able to flourish in relation to the country’s national pastime and obsession. When it comes to football (or soccer, as some readers will insist) the Guanacaste province has a less-than-stellar past. This, however, is beginning to turn around thanks to various ongoing efforts.

Football: More Effective Than the War on Drugs

Twenty-three schools in the Santa Cruz canton of Guanacaste recently participated for the first time in the Red Ribbon Week, a special program organized by the local Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) chapter, which is administered by the community outreach administration of Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica.

The Embassy of the United States of America has been crucial in organizing the Red Ribbon Week, which aims to prevent drug abuse through prevention and early intervention programs aimed at young populations. Although the Red Ribbon Week has taken place over the last seven years, the schools of the Santa Cruz canton had not participated until now. The highlight of the weeklong event, aside from drug prevention education, was the indoor football tournament for elementary and secondary education students.

The specter of drug abuse and potential involvement in the drug trafficking trade are not limited to young students. In Guanacaste, teens and adults are even more vulnerable due to income inequality and rising unemployment as the region shifts from its traditionally agricultural economy to tourism, real estate development and technology. To help alleviate these growing pains, the University of Costa Rica (UCR) operates the Permanent Athletic School of the Guanacaste Campus, located in Liberia. This special school recruits students from troubled neighborhoods such as La Guaria, San Roque and Corazon de Jesus and helps them to develop their skills in the beautiful game.

This special UCR school has been in operation for almost 20 years, and it has helped many young players join the National Amateur Football League, the Development League (also known as Second Division) and even the coveted First Division, from which players are selected to represent Costa Rica in her National Football Team, which will participate in the long-awaited 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Permanent Athletic School does not hide the sad fact that substance abuse and alcoholism are serious issues that affect Guanacaste; in fact, the school staff seeks to benefit the most challenged neighborhoods by providing a way out through football.

Indoor Football and Other Professional Aspirations

The community of Santa Cruz in Guanacaste is football-crazy, particularly when it comes to the indoor variety. Unfortunately, indoor football fans have not had a team to root for since 2010. This, however, may soon change. According to online news site Primero en Noticias, a local businessman is negotiating the purchase of an indoor football franchise based in San Jose, which he plans to relocate to Guanacaste. Mr. Yao Wen Tan explained that this team relocation is the beginning of a larger project that aims to help the province shine in the competitive discipline of professional football in Costa Rica.

Whereas Guanacaste has stumbled in recent years with the mismanagement of First Division teams such as Liberia Mia and Guanacaste Football Club, the province is well represented in the Development League, which has a couple of teams from the province that got off to a great start in the current tournament but did not make it to the quarter finals. The hopes to put the province in the professional football map of Costa Rica, however, are very much alive.