During the meetings, the parents of the children attending the João Paolo II Educational Centre often expressed the fear that their kids could find street life appealing and that this could undermine their future.

The lack of activities and laboratories in the community during the after-school hours, together with working parents staying away from home for long hours, led the kids to spend their free time in the streets, with a higher risk of being exposed to dangerous situations.

It was because of  this concern and because of the students’ great interest in sport activities, that in 2013 the João Paulo II Educational Centre started a systematic work in the sports field, which led to the creation of a sports association, named by the students themselves: Nova Geração Sports Project.

Initially, we offered two activities: five-a-side football for boys and handball for girls.

Today the range of sports disciplines has been extended and there are several groups of men’s and women’s five-a-side football, women’s and men’s handball, men’s and women’s basketball, karate and capoeira.

Undoubtedly, the construction of a sports field cover has been a milestone for our Centre because it allowed us to extend our sports activities, by making the use of the field possible even on hot or rainy days (both frequent). An Italian Foundation provided the financial support to build the cover, that further enhanced the structure by creating a beautiful space and considerably increasing its potential for more sports and recreational activities.

Since 2014, sports activities have been starting at 16:30, after school lessons, and finishing in the evening, from Monday to Saturday. The activities consist of group trainings organized by qualified coaches according to the sport and the age of the kids, as well as the participation in Championships, matches and tournaments at city, regional and national level.