Sports Director Takes Part in Football Program in the U.S

Iris Centeno

The Director of the National Sports Council, Iris Centeno, is currently in the United States, along with a delegation of female football players. The group is at Princeton University in New Jersey, where they are taking part in a two-week exchange program. Centeno explained to News Five that she was selected to take part in a football program long before she became the Sports Director, through her connection with the Football Federation of Belize.

Iris Centeno, Director, National Sports Council

“The whole program is very productive. It’s not only focused on sports. It’s focused on productivity, like being a leader, being someone who can actually use the sports to change your community. And that’s exactly what we want to do with the sports in Belize. We don’t want the players or the athletes just to think it’s just a game. We want to be able to change lives. We want to be able to help them be the leaders of tomorrow. If we use sports to try to change the lives of so many kids, even the minds of the parents, our society will be much better. We will see a decrease in crime. Even when it comes to females, pregnancy rate level is so high. If we start to let these girls see that there is something bigger, Out there they will be having their minds already set from a very young age that they want to conquer this certain dream. So all of these programs I try to be a part of it for me to learn to gain knowledge and be able to take it back home.”