'Small island, big dreams': Curacao refuse to end ambition at World Cup qualification

[p]Since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/curacao/bLLGpOkQ/"]Curacao[/a] clinched qualification with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jamaica/CWmDb3zj/"]Jamaica[/a] in November, the 160,000 inhabitants of the Dutch island famed for its eponymous sapphire liqueur are riding the crest of the Blue Wave, as the national side is dubbed.[/p][p]The qualification is expected to give tourism on the paradisical island of white sand beaches, which received 1.5 million visitors last year, a boost.[/p][p]Visitor numbers were already up 13 per cent in the first three months of the year.[/p][p][b]"Football is putting us on the global map,"[/b] Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas, himself a former footballer, told AFP, predicting a visitor influx.[/p][p]Far from the luxury seafront hotels and Caribbean cruise ships that dock in the port of the capital Willemstad, a group of teenagers kick a ball around a dirt pitch in the low-income neighborhood of Fuik.[/p][embed guid="b4fbad68-4242-44e3-a316-d1a9c0368dc9" url="https://x.com/footballontnt/status/1991081134332010661" social-type="twitter" /][p]The players are from a foundation for young people from underprivileged backgrounds set up by former Dutch-Curacaoan manager Remko Bicentini, who played professional football in the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]Netherlands[/a] and later coached Curacao.[/p][p]On the gate, a motivational slogan in Papiamento, the creole spoken in the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, advises young people to take destiny in their hands.[/p][p]"You are responsible for your future," it reads.[/p][h2]Diaspora's starring role[/h2][p][b]"If you come on holiday to Curacao, you see beaches and everything looks perfect,"[/b] Bicentini said. [b]"But there are also areas where poor people live."[/b][/p][p][b]"Many families have three, four, five children but no money. We help them when they don't have enough to eat," [/b]he said.[/p][p]Neveron Alberto, one of his young disciples, dreams of being called up for the national team, but the road to selection is littered with obstacles for local players.[/p][p]The island owes its World Cup berth entirely to its Dutch-based diaspora, the president of Curacao's football federation, Gilbert Martina, admitted.[/p][p]"All the players on the national team play in foreign leagues," he said.[/p][p]The only team member born on Curacao, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chong-tahith/KxziU4tD/"]Tahith Chong[/a], moved to the Netherlands at the age of 13.[/p][embed guid="d1dedf8b-25c3-4ae8-8a1c-e040bc361486" url="https://x.com/eurofootcom/status/1997018540294181147" social-type="twitter" /][p]But football is increasingly in vogue on what has traditionally been a baseball-mad island.[/p][p]Federation president Martina hopes the World Cup will swell the ranks of the 3,500 to 4,000 islanders officially registered in clubs to date.[/p][p]The most famous Curacaoan is perhaps former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ajax/8UOvIwnb/"]Ajax[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kluivert-patrick/KdsGSWEr/"]Patrick Kluivert[/a], who was born to a Surinamese father who played for the South American country and a mother from Curacao.[/p][p]The former striker told AFP he was "very happy" about Curacao's qualification.[/p][p][b]"It's fantastic that the island is in the World Cup,"[/b] he said.[/p][p][b]"In my day, (football) was not that big on the island but the players have given Curacao visibility. It's important for the future, for the next generation,"[/b] added Kluivert, who coached the Curacaoan side between 2015 and 2016.[/p][h2]Tremble, Germany![/h2][p]Curacao has been drawn alongside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ecuador/8tbm8Tri/"]Ecuador[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ivory-coast/G2FRjBgn/"]Ivory Coast[/a] and four-time World Cup winner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] in Group E, one of the toughest of the tournament.[/p][p]Former Argentine star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caniggia-claudio/2sUtaHb3/"]Claudio Caniggia[/a], who travelled to Curacao for a retired legends tournament - together with Ronaldinho, Kluivert, the Netherlands' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sneijder-wesley/Y3Pg11Dq/"]Wesley Sneijder[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/materazzi-marco/r3YqlUhD/"]Marco Materazzi[/a] - predicted the World Cup would motivate the island's youth and lead to the emergence of new talent.[/p][embed guid="7f89ade7-0f43-4098-9d8e-62d70fe00773" url="https://x.com/iomatrix23/status/2043228004470432058" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"If they manage to get through the first round it would be extraordinary,"[/b] he said, while noting that the early stages of the World Cup are notable for producing surprises.[/p][p]The optimism sweeping the island has infected the official fan store, where locals and tourists jostle for Curacao blue jerseys, caps and scarves.[/p][p]As he rings up sales Rovien Petronilia, the 21-year-old cashier, believes football's greats will be humbled by lowly Curacao.[/p][p]"We will beat Germany!" he predicted.[/p]