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“With every play, every kick, every goal, you bring us closer together as a country”

 

  • With this statement of national unity, President Carlos Alvarado conveyed an emotional message of support to the national team that will represent Costa Rica in Russia 2018.
  • An audiovisual presentation, produced by ICT, highlights Costa Rica's tourist attractions, its biodiversity, its renewable energy and its people.
  • “The Soccer World Cup is a unique showcase to promote Costa Rica as a tourist destination”, noted Maria Amalia Revelo, the Minister of Tourism.

In a video produced by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado, wearing the jersey of La Roja, gave an emotional message of support and national unity to members of the national team that will represent the country at the 2018 Soccer World Cup in Russia.

Previously, messages of thanks and support had been sent to the players and coaching staff by the singer Humberto Vargas – the winner of the Viña del Mar Festival – Karla Villalobos, a member of the women's national team, and two 5-year-old kindergarten students.

“I also want to thank you because with every play, every kick, every goal, you bring us closer together as a country. We are hoping for a great performance at this World Cup”, said Carlos Alvarado in the video, which was published on Monday on the official website.

Against a backdrop of aerial images of Playa Hermosa, Punta Catedral in Manuel Antonio and the windmills of Santa Ana, the video plays a speech by President Alvarado, in which he emphasizes that Costa Rica is a small country which is nevertheless “a giant in democracy, a giant in the environment, a giant in peace, and a giant in soccer”.

The images also include two wild animals that are representative of Costa Rica, a toucan and a white-headed capuchin monkey, as well as scenes from a football game in the indigenous territory of Yorkin, near the border with Panama.

“This is the moment to show the world what Pura Vida is all about”, said the President, noting that after the performance in the previous World Cup, expectations were high and today “we are hungry for a win”.

The video ends with a resounding challenge: “This time, everyone knows who Costa Rica is, and that's why we're going to give it our all”.

The official debut of La Sele will be in Group E on June 17 in the city of Samara against Serbia, with a match against Brazil in Saint Petersburg on Friday the 22nd and the final game of the round robin on Wednesday the 27th against Switzerland in the Nizhny Novgorod stadium.