By Jose Luis Gonzalez
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) – The ball flies. The teen runs and heads it straight into the net.
“Goaaaaal!” the Guatemalan team cheers as it scores another point against the Colombians.
These are not the national teams, however. The players are migrants from those countries staying at a shelter in the Mexican border city of Juarez, waiting for appointments to request asylum in the United States.
“We have eight countries out here today,” said Santiago Gonzalez, director of the Kiki Romero migrant shelter. “Almost every night we would see pick-up games at the shelter, so when we proposed (a tournament), they were really excited.”
Nearly 50 migrants turned out for the first tournament, organized with the local sports institute and human rights officials, but Gonzalez said the groups want more.
“Of course, it was hard to fill out the teams for some of the countries that aren’t die-hard football fans, like Cuba and Peru,” Gonzalez said. “So Venezuela lent us some people, since there’s so many of them,” he added, chuckling.
Soccer offers a needed break for these migrants, many of whom faced dangerous conditions and long journeys to make it to the U.S.-Mexico border.
They are awaiting appointments through the U.S.’ CBP One app, rolled out in January with snags from high demand and frequent glitches.
“It’s great to be out here having fun, to clear our minds of everything and to let off some steam,” said Venezuelan Anderson Garcia, who played for Peru.
Waving their shirts in the air, chanting and squirting water, the Venezuelan team celebrated their win with a massive trophy.
Hair plastered to his face, Jose Alejandro Colina flashed a tired smile.
“I’m so happy right now,” he said. “This was a great opportunity to distract myself for a bit, to break the routine.”
(Reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez for Reuters TV; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Richard Chang)
