Sports

A MINING OLIGARCH IN FOOTBALL

25 Jun, 2014 | Inske Groenen

Earth's riches join the game The big pyramid-shaped mountain overlooking Potosí has always had its power over the city. The silver coming from this Cerro Rico –rich hill– once brought unbelievabl...

THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL IN BOLIVIA

25 Jun, 2014 | Tommy Walters, François Schollaert Paz

Today, South America produces some of the best football players in the world. Such is its footballing success that Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter, FIFA’s president, pointed to South America as the ‘Old Contine...

TAHUICHI: MUCH MORE THAN A FOOTBALL ACADEMY

25 Jun, 2014 | Ander Zarraga

‘Roly, with the Tahuchi Academy, has revolutionized the world of children’s football’, famed Brazilian football star Pelé said about the dream of engineer Rolando Aguilera Pareja, who wanted to pro...

EVO

25 Jun, 2014 | Alex Walker

A politician who plays football, or a footballer who plays at politics? In 2010, a bitterly-fought charity match was played between two teams, one of them led by Bolivian President Evo Morales an...

BECKHAM FOR BOLÍVAR

25 Jun, 2014 | Alex Walker

It was rumoured in May that David Beckham might emerge from his footballing retirement for Bolívar’s Copa Libertadores semi-final. With the club’s reigning oligarch Marcelo Claure later dismissing thi...

BOLIVIA'S BARRAS BRAVAS

21 May, 2014 | Alex Walker

Violence constitutes an inherent and quotidian part of club football worldwide. In South America, barras bravas – supporters’ groups cut from the same cloth as European Ultras – are the culprits held...

Snowboarding Bolivia’s Glaciers

27 Mar, 2014 | Laura Van Antwerp

Making the Most of a Disappearing Water Source Loose rock and snow crumble beneath my feet as I struggle to keep up with David, my leader, who is gliding effortlessly up the mountain ahead of me. I’...

CHOLITA FOOTBALL: The Key to Transforming Women's Football in Bolivia?

24 Sep, 2013 | John Downes

When contemplating football in South America, one automatically thinks about those countries steeped in World Cup tradition such as Brazil, Argentina, and even Uruguay. One would be forgiven for ne...

Enchulame La Maquina

10 Jan, 2013 | Theo Haynes

Pimp my Ride, Bolivia Neon lights more evocative of the Christmas season than high-performance motoring; oversized exhausts with noises so strange they suggest engine malfunction rather than power;...

Claudia Balderrama: Bolivia’s race walker

14 Aug, 2012 | Xenia Elsaesser

'We need women who are fighters, who are more enterprising. They must not be submissive' 'The only thing I can be is Claudia Balderrama. Nothing else. That is it.’ Claudia Balderrama speaks softl...

The new Bolivian fighters: Cholitas Luchadoras

15 May, 2012 | Lauren Bell

JUANITA LA CARIÑOSA CARMEN ROSA LA CAMPEONA YOLANDA LA AMOROSA CLAUDINA LA MALA MARTHA LA ALTEÑA Cholitas luchadoras: the strapping heroines of El Alto's weekly cholita wrestling. Every Sunday to...

Giving the game away

15 May, 2012 | Anthony Moore Bastos

Fulbito in Bolivia and South America In Bolivia there is no such thing as a "No Ball Games" sign. Consequently, Bolivian windows are criss-crossed by enrejados, preventing both burglars and football...

Get your moto running

15 May, 2012 | Taj Davis

In spite of the rally's remote location in the poorest country in South America, it's all made possible through a great love of the sport. The motorbikes came on the backs of pickup trucks, towed...