When it comes to football, South America is a hotbed for talented players and passionate fans. This is certainly true of Ecuador who has made strong appearances in a number of FIFA World Cups and the Copa América. However, while the country may have a strong national football team, it still has a long way to go at the grassroots end of the game. A lack of funding and support has meant a number of talented football players, predominately from poorer backgrounds, have been unable to enjoy organised football coaching sessions and competitive football matches. However, by joining one of our football coaching volunteer projects in Ecuador, you will give a number of keen players the chance to train, play and enjoy football as part of a structured team. You will also be able to train with Ecuadorian football players at a semi-professional football team. This will give you lots of playing experience, a unique cultural exchange and provide another exciting dimension to your South American football project.

 

The volunteer coaching element of your sports project takes place at a local football school. This will give you valuable experience of coaching football to children at the grassroots level of the game. The youth football club welcomes over 80 enthusiastic young football players from a variety of backgrounds and was established to offer a safe, secure environment for young footballers to play and develop in football. The players are aged between 4 and 16 years old and the main focus is to provide players with organised football coaching and regular football matches. By choosing to volunteer as a football coach at the football school, you will give young football players much better access to structured football training while also gaining a much deeper insight into all levels of Ecuadorian football.

 

By volunteering on our football coaching project, you will be fully immersed in Ecuadorian football. You will gain valuable experience working alongside the local coaching staff and assist them in running daily football coaching sessions across a range of abilities and age groups. As you grow in confidence, you will be able to take a more active role in the organisation of football training sessions and competitions. The football schools in Quito hold regular football matches against local teams and also run a number of football tournaments on weekends. The young players love these competitive activities and you will soon discover how football is used as a centre point for many communities in Ecuador. You will also see how seriously the players (and their families) take it on the pitch! The football coaching sessions take place 2 to 3 afternoons a week, leaving plenty of time to explore the city, to learn Spanish and to train with a semi-professional football team.

 

In addition to your role as a volunteer football coach, you will be able to train and play with a local semi-professional football team. Not only is this a fantastic cultural experience, it will keep your body fit and your football skills sharp. You will also learn much more about the South American style of football – this is bound to give you an edge when you return to your football club back home! The football training takes place at the Universidad Católica – one of the top universities in Ecuador – and the team is made up of students from the university as well as future football stars from the local area. The team is composed of approximately 20-25 players, aged 19-25 years old, and training usually takes place on weekday evenings. The football team regularly competes at a semi-professional level in football tournaments around Quito. The main tournament usually takes place from March to October and sometimes in December depending on the amount of teams that enter the tournament. Training with a local football team really is a fantastic cultural experience, giving you the chance to build friendships with Ecuadorians of the same age and learn lots more about the Ecuadorian culture.

 

The Universidad Católica also has a professional team called Liga Deportiva de la Universidad Católica. The team has played competitively in the top two leagues since the 1960s (Primera A and Primera B), winning the Interandean Professional Championship in 1965 and competing in the Copa Libertadores in 1974 and 1980. You will no doubt become a loyal fan of Liga Deportiva during your time in Ecuador and will enjoy watching them train and play competitively.

 

Coaching and playing football on a football gap year is fantastic way to experience a football gap year abroad. A football gap year will let you enjoy gap year travel in Ecuador while sharing your passion for football with other gap year sports volunteers.