By Gerardo Lara – FLAF Americas
While the United Nations General Assembly and 184 countries condemn the US blockade of the island, which represents a policy of economic, social and political suffocation for six decades. The brave Cuban people now realizes that it is not even possible for them to develop freely and grow in sports and competition, specifically football nowadays.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and the island’s Football Association denounced and held the US authorities responsible for not receiving on time the corresponding documents and visa to enter the United States, the host for the preliminary phase of the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup.
In an unprecedented political act, the growth of a generation of Cuban football players who sought to give a sporting joy to their people was cut short. Let’s take into account that in the sporting aspect, Cuba stands out worldwide in activities such as baseball, athletics or boxing, but with the passage of time, football has gained a special place and this is why the reaction of the members of the national team after receiving the news was devastating.
As revolutionary leader Fidel once said:
‘’Football helped me to have will, to exercise my capacity for physical resistance, it gave me pleasure, satisfaction, fighting spirit and competition. ’’
We know that fighting spirit is present in every Cuban and will not wane, we denounce the blockade in every sense, and the fact that for their national football team not being able to compete on US soil on equal terms with its rivals goes against the values and principles of the game.