Cafu builds a paradise for shantytown kids
Brazil great digs into his own pocket to help slum childrenlearn the game and much more
In a Sao Paulo shantytown, hundreds of children are chasing dreams of football glory thanks to a foundation set up by Cafu, a two-time world champion with Brazil's national squad.
It is midday Saturday in Jardim Irene, one of the city's poorest and most violent favelas, where Marcos Evangelista de Moraes - better known as Cafu - was born and grew up.
After a stellar career notably with Sao Paulo, Roma and Milan, Cafu, the only man to have played in three straight World Cup finals, set up the foundation as a way to give back to his community.
Every year, the academy welcomes around 750 children, aged between three and 17, using soccer as a vehicle to promote social integration and teach good citizenship.
From its two-storey building, children are heard shouting and kicking balls as they learn the fundamentals of football, a national passion in a country which has won five world titles and prepares to host the 2014 World Cup. Yet despite its sporting prowess, Brazilian census figures indicate up to a third of youngsters aged between seven and 14 live in poverty.
We want to offer them a refuge where they can escape their harsh reality
"Every week, I anxiously wait for Saturday to come here," says 11-year-old Gabriel Soares during a break.