‘Si no lo sientes, no lo entiendes’ -‘If you can’t feel it, you don’t understand it’-, goes the saying used by local football fans to explain why some people simply aren’t able to join in the passion for the world’s most popular sport. What makes Bolivian football fans stand out from the rest? Quite simply, their ability to swallow every bitter defeat throughout our history to enjoy and celebrate those few victories (and even draws) we have as if we were world fucking champions.

When you try to think back at Bolivia’s triumphs in football at either the national or club level, there are only a handful to remember. The 1963 Copa America Championship, the glorious qualification to the 1994 World Cup, and the most recent 6-1 defeat of Argentina stand out, without a doubt, as the golden moments of our National Team.

Yet in recent years Bolivian football has entered a dark age. Today, Bolivian football is as volatile as a three-headed dragon. It’s customary for local fans to lament ‘jugamos como nunca perdimos como siempre’ - ‘we played like never before but we lost just as we always do’.

National football is simultaneously run by the Bolivian Football Federation, The Bolivian League and The Bolivian Football Association. Instead of working together, each body fails to organize competitive teams, and train talented youngsters into dedicated professionals, further deepening this national crisis.

The result of such disorganization? Bolivia ended up second to last in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. All three entities may have sworn to ensure the and progress and well-being of Bolivian football, but instead, all they appear to do is fight for their own economic gain. While we still cherish and celebrate the glorious moments of yesteryear and believe that better and brighter days will come, our present situation shows no indication of changing any time soon.

Despite all this, fans and their passion remain strong. At the beginning of every World Cup qualifier or international tournament, fans get their cábalas ready and hopes begin to soar. We start chanting those songs we learned when we were kids. And even when we don’t get anywhere near the world’s centre-stage, we are still content to open a Paceña, sit back, and enjoy the World Cup from afar.

From national football icons to amateur leagues playing in dirt pitches, this issue takes you on a journey through the history, passion and nostalgia in Bolivian football. No matter how difficult and complicated a game may be, a true fan will cheer their team on til’ the game’s last minute. And trust us, Bolivians know all there is to know about ‘difficult’ and ‘complicated’. Like true love, passion for football is unconditional.