Football in Peru

Even in the heart of the Amazon. Unbeknownst to most, the Amazon River officially begins in Peru – fed by tributaries that are born in the Andes. We spent several days travelling the river in the north-eastern part of the country and were fortunate one morning to be welcomed by a small village called Puerto Prado, several miles from the town of Nauta.

The remote village is home to about 20 families, all carving out a meagre existence. The men are fishermen and hunters. The women make arts and crafts to sell to the few tourists like ourselves who pass by the village every month or so. By all accounts, the villagers have very, very little. There’s no hospital or restaurant or disco hall – but there is a football pitch, carved out of a sloping hill that sits right in the centre of the community. If anything, it underscored the fact that football is the world’s game.

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