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Praia, Cape Verde (April 9, 2026) \u2013 Pedro Bettencourt, president of the country’s prestigious youth football training school, known by its Portuguese acronym EPIF, says he has seen a change in young players since the national team’s recent success. Here players prepare for training sessions.<\/p>\n
Rikki Shryock for NPR<\/p>\n
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Praia\u2014Cape Verde may be small, but its soccer World Cup dream is big. With just over five lakh people, it is one of the smallest countries ever to qualify for the tournament.<\/p>\n
From the volcanic islands of the Atlantic, the team\u2014known as the Blue Sharks\u2014is chasing history. This summer, they will play in the World Cup for the first time\u2014this is one of the smallest countries by population.<\/p>\n
The island nation off the coast of West Africa is not just appearing at this summer’s World Cup, it is competing with ambitions far bigger than its geography.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\nHaving secured their spot last year with a 3-0 win over Eswatini, the country erupted in celebration. The streets were filled with cheering fans. Hug strangers. The parties continued till late night.<\/p>\n
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Pedro Bettencourt, president of the country’s prestigious youth football training school, known by its Portuguese acronym EPIF, says he has seen a change in young players since the national team’s success. Here young players prepare for practice.<\/p>\n
Rikki Shryock for NPR<\/p>\n
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That win and the excitement it generated has changed the way Cape Verdeans view football \u2013 or soccer, as they call it here. What was once a street play and a school competition now carries the weight of a national dream.<\/p>\n
Pedro Bettencourt leads Escola de Prepar\u00e7\u00e3o Integral de F\u00fatbol (EPIF), one of Cape Verde’s most prestigious youth football academies. He says the qualification has changed the way young players see their future.
In a training session in Santa Cruz, it is easy to recognize that dream.<\/p>\n
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The regional football championship of Santiago South, the region that includes the capital, Praia pitted Travadores versus Boavista \u2013 the two largest and oldest teams in Cabo Verde \u2013 as they competed for the regional title of Praia in Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
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Yuri Marley Fernandes, 14, is a forward in EPIF. He talks like a man who expects to play on football’s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
“This is my dream,” he says. “Football is beautiful and I can play. I can win the World Cup. I play very well. I’m a forward\u2014very fast\u2014and my goals are beautiful.”<\/p>\n
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Yuri Marley Fernandes introduces himself as “Cape Verde’s best player”. Fernandes is 14 years old, a forward in the EPIF, and already sounds like a man who belongs on the big stage.<\/p>\n
Rikki Shryock for NPR<\/p>\n
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For Fernandes the dream is personal. But for Cape Verde, it extends far beyond the islands.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\nThe country is an archipelago of 10 islands, home to a large number of expatriates \u2013 more Cape Verdeans live abroad than at home. The national team reflects that reality, consisting of players from across Europe, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Among them, defender Ianique dos Santos Tavares, better known as Stopira, is one of the team’s standout stars.<\/p>\n
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A view of Praia, the capital in Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
Rikki Shryock for NPR<\/p>\n
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We met his mother, Maria da Grassa Santos \u2013 affectionately known as \u201cDa\u201d \u2013 at her clothing store in Praia. She was glowing talking about her son.<\/p>\n
“I feel thrilled for us, for the Cape Verde football team, and I am very happy with my son’s journey,” she said. “He’s been playing and working for it since he was little. Everyone in Cape Verde is excited that we’re going to the World Cup. Now the world knows about Cape Verde, even though we’re a small country.”<\/p>\n
After our visit, he arranged for a phone call with Stopira. Speaking from Portugal between training sessions, he reflected on what qualifying for the World Cup means for the country \u2013 and for the fans who have cheered them on every step of the way.<\/p>\n
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Maria da Grassa Santos, mother of Cape Verde national football team player Ianique dos Santos Tavares \u2013 better known by his nickname Stopira, in front of a poster of her son. At one of her shops in the capital, she sells Cape Verde football gear.<\/p>\n
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“It means everything to us. I’m happy because I’m a part of it,” he said. “I have spent my entire career with this dream…I don’t have words to describe it…realizing not only my dream, but the dreams of the entire country.”<\/p>\n
Most of Cape Verde’s progress in football comes from investment national federation<\/a>. Its president, Mario Semedo, says that FIFA funding has helped improve training facilities and pitches throughout the islands. He says that the importance of football here goes beyond being a game and creating opportunities and national pride.<\/p>\n\u201cFootball means a lot to young people,\u201d Semedo says. “This can help keep them away from negative influences, and in some cases even prevent juvenile delinquency.”<\/p>\n
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Young men play football on the beach in Praia, Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
Rikki Shryock for NPR<\/p>\n
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The federation is expected to earn about $10.5 million for reaching the World Cup group stage, money officials say will help strengthen youth development and expand scouting in the diaspora.<\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\nCape Verde’s first test at the World Cup could hardly be tougher: on June 15 in Atlanta they face Spain, one of the tournament favourites.<\/p>\n
But on the pitches of this small island, the next generation keeps training \u2013 inspired by a World Cup dream that no longer seems impossible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Praia, Cape Verde (April 9, 2026) \u2013 Pedro Bettencourt, president of the country’s prestigious youth football training school, known by its Portuguese acronym EPIF, says he has seen a change in young players since the national team’s recent success. Here players prepare for training sessions. Rikki Shryock for NPR hide caption toggle caption Rikki Shryock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1369,547,4647,2613,1891,166],"class_list":{"0":"post-129103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-news","8":"tag-cup","9":"tag-island","10":"tag-nation","11":"tag-npr","12":"tag-small","13":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129106,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129103\/revisions\/129106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}