A BISSAU-GUINEAN WOMAN IS A FOOTBALL STAR IN BOLIVIA

Mariatu Candé is a young Bissau-Guinean girl who decided to defy her parents, the rules of the Muslim religion and venture into the world of professional football in Bolivia, where she finally won the title with her club, Mundo Futuro Petroleiro. Speaking to Lusa, the Portuguese News Agency, by phone from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 24-year-old Mariatu Candé, known in Guinea-Bissau as Lampard, said she quotloves sport, loved football and was hard-headed,quot she did against her mother's wishes, who wanted her to study instead of running around the fields after prom. Moreover, the Muslim religion does not appreciate the practice of football by women. Mariatu Candé told Lusa that from an early age on the island of Bolama, where he was born, in 1995, he always played with boys and girls quotwithout listening to the attention of family membersquot. , practicing Muslims, having represented a club in Bissau. , where he moved with his mother and the Guinean team. Focusing on professional football, quotfor fun, to earn money and help her mother out of povertyquot, Mariatu embarked on an authentic adventure at 16 to try her luck in Guinea-Conakry . , Algeria, Brazil until arriving in Bolivia five years ago. Along the way, Mariatu said she met quota lot of serious people, but also an unimportant businessmanquot who promised her a club in Brazil - where she ended up staying for two days - when in reality the destination , which she didn't know herself, was a club in town. Bolivia The only Guinean to play football in this South American country, Mariatu did not despair. I wanted to play professional football in Brazil or Bolivia without being under the wing of a businessman, he told Lusa. In Bolivia, he met a Bissau-Guinean only once, with whom he overcame the homesickness that continues to tighten every time he remembers his friends and family, especially the mother he talks to daily, he said. I miss you so much, but Mariatu is quotvery proudquot to carry the name of Guinea-Bissau, although she regrets quotthe constant strikes in public schools and the wars between politiciansquot. Mariatu does not regret not following her mother's wishes, as she managed to build a quotgood housequot in Bissau for the parent she is proud of. Guinean girls who want to follow football as a profession ask them to follow their hearts. quotFollow your heart, if you really love this sport, because if you earn bread tomorrow, your family will consume more than 80%. Train, fight and move on,quot said the Guinean player, pointing out that it was about the mother herself who now recognizes the merit of following her childhood dream. Bolivian champions, the Mariatu club will compete next year in the American Libertadores Cup in the women's category. The Guinean hopes to fulfill the one-and-a-half-year deal with the current club and then think about what she's going to do for a living. When he retired from football, he said he was considering a career as a host as he enjoys traveling and meeting people. Asked about her response if called upon to represent the Guinean national football team, Mariatu Candé said she would proudly accept to defend the flag of a country that would trade for nothing in the world. Source: //Lusa (Portuguese Press Agency) //Sports.sapo.cv