SPORTING SUCCESSES BOOST NATIONAL PRIDE

Ecuador’s soccer team put in a creditable performance in their first-ever World Cup.

Although a relatively small country with only 12 million inhabitants, Ecuador is characterized by diversity. However, a new sense of national unity is emerging due to successes in an activity in which all Ecuadorians can take pride: sport.

In recent years, that pride has focused on sportsmen such as speed walker Jefferson Perez, who in 1996 became Ecuador’s first Olympic gold medallist; mountain climber Ivan Vallejo, who has reached the summits of Everest and K2 without bottled oxygen; and Andrés Gómez, Nicolás Lapentti and his younger brother Giovanni, who have demonstrated their skills at international tennis championships.

For most Ecuadorians, however, the greatest source of national sporting pride is soccer, and the crowning achievement came in 2002 with Ecuador’s first-ever appearance in the World Cup. The success of the national team—slogan Sí, se puede (Yes, it can be done)—has had a profound effect on the national psyche, giving Ecuadorians greater confidence in their ability to excel, and setting an example of what can be achieved through teamwork and solidarity.

Backing the national passion for sport are companies like the sportswear firm Marathon Sports. In addition to officially sponsoring the national soccer team and Ecuadorian athletes, the company is also involved in soccer schools and a variety of sport programs. In this way, Marathon reflects the view that more needs to be done by the private sector to encourage sporting talent at grassroots level.