Former Brazilian star Zico now runs a soccer school to provide a place for young hopefuls to practise at a time when unplanned urban growth is squeezing them off their makeshift pitches. His training centre is also going some way. reports Gemini News Service, to safeguarding the future of the national game.

They say that Brazil's great soccer stars are born on the beaches or in the back streets. Any spare plot of sand or asphalt is quickly transformed into a pitch for young foot ball -crazy boys, who often play barefoot with an old ball in desperate need of repair.

In this way. the sprawling cities of the world's greatest soccer nation have spawned such stars as Pele. Zico. Ro-mario and a host of others.

The problem today is that unplanned urban growth linked to rapid industrial development is squeezing out young talent.

"Fewer .young people have the possibility of practising nowadays." says Zico. one of the Brazilian greats of the 1970s and '80s. "Lack of space in the big cities will create serious problems for national football. The number of payers could decrease and Brazil could stop producing stars."

To combat the problem. Zico 43. has opdaHut soccer school in his natiw Wk de Janeiro to help children M all social backgrounds hone their skills, away from traffic Jams and building sites.

The Zico Soccer Centre —- . consisting of four pitches, running tracks, indqpr training facilities-and classrooms — has been a great hit. In its first year, the number of student has soared from 400 to 1,000. Thirteen instructors have been hired to supervise 90-minute sessions for youngster aged seven to 17.

"I like the school. I like Uncle Zico." says seven-year-old student Taian Saraiya after scoring a goal duririg practice at dribbling the ball. Twant to be famous like him."

Zico gives some of the lessons on and off the pitch, teaching various aspects of the game, tactics and such things as the Importance of respecting coaches and referees.

He says that when he was a child in the 1960s. he and his friends had little trouble finding somewhere to practise.

However, bad planning and uncontrolled growth have covered every available space in some areas with shopping centres, office blocks, car parks and shanty towns. Hundreds of. makeshift football fields have been lost, and poorer neighbourhoods have suffered the worst. Even where there are public parks, little thought appears to have been put into creating playing spaces.

In the late '80s. when Zico was helping to coach young Slayers, he realised how things ad changed, and saw the need for starting a school.

"It became harder and

harder each day to find a vacant field for training." he says. "I could see no other solution but to construct everything myself."

He will not disclose how much he Invested in the school, but does say "it was expensive."

The centre does not receive public funding, and charges children 100 reals for membership and a monthly fee of 60 reals. However, children from poorer families are allowed to take part for half price or even for nothing in some cases.

Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico. was born in the poor suburb of Quintino. When he was 14 he was spotted ' and groomed by the leading Rio club. Flamengo. He played as a striker for the club for most of the 1970s and '80s scoring 508 goals. He also won 90 caps for Brazil, scoring 69 goals for the national side.

He launched the school project after officially ending his playing career at Kashima Antlers of Japan in 1994. He still plays unofficially, and helped his country win the recently-launched beach football world championships in Copacabana. Rio de Janeiro, in 1995 and 1996.

— Gemini

About the Author: Beauty Lupiya is a Zambian freelance Journalist working in Brazil. She was formerly a senior sports writer with The Times of Zambia.