School uniforms and Nerazzurri shirts out in the colleges of Cuba

HOLGUIN - Pueblo Nuevo is the latest addition to the Inter Campus Cuba family, located in Holguin. Despite the name, this suburb is far from new and was created on the outskirts of the city centre decades ago.

Octavio, who’s an experienced and patient coach, meets us at the school entrance and accompanies us through the classrooms and corridors before the kids start their sporting activities. This is new for Inter Campus Cuba, where we’re used to playing at grand training centres, mostly away from educational institutions. Soon enough, school uniforms are swapped for Inter shirts, with the school turning a shade of black and blue.

We’re all ready, but we can’t start without the ‘gerente’ (director). We wait a few minutes and he soon then turns up from the courtyard. His name is Juan, he’s 11-years-old and he’s running. The complete opposite of the corporate suit that we’d expected. He has a smiling face and chubby cheeks. They explain to us that his nickname belongs to all the children, who in their collective imagination have wealthy parents and can guarantee a better life for their children. In reality it’s not like that, and Juan is not rich. However, he likes to be the ‘general’ and his friends respect him for it.

So finally, we all take to the field and play beings. Kids, coaches and… directors.