From the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego the passion for thousands upon thousands of youths is football. In the continent where the gap between rich and poor is the most marked, there are few opportunities to break with the same cycle of poverty into which the majority is born. For many the only example of someone getting ahead & out of the ?barrio? or ?favela? are those very few who go onto...
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From the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego the passion for thousands upon thousands of youths is football. In the continent where the gap between rich and poor is the most marked, there are few opportunities to break with the same cycle of poverty into which the majority is born. For many the only example of someone getting ahead & out of the ?barrio? or ?favela? are those very few who go onto play professional football? and they are very few.

However, even though the vast majority will never even get a sniff of earning money through football, the dream does live on when they are on the pitch ? which in many, many cases is the only time they will be able to compete on a ?level field?.

These pictures - which include the home neighbourhoods of Maradona, Pele, Ronaldinho, Adriano etc. ? are more about poor urban environments in South America than they are about football. However, the language of soccer is universal & being interested in the theme has allowed me to enter and work in some of the most problematic neighbourhoods in the Americas.

Shot on 6x7 negative.
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