At a primary school in soccer-mad Brazil, pupils are spurred to academic greatness in classrooms resembling soccer pitches — with a virtual avatar inspired by star forward Vinicius Junior cheering on every correct answer.
Perched on soccer-patterned cushions on classroom floors of artificial grass, they learn on tablets and smartphones using an app created by the Vini Jr Institute, started by the Real Madrid player to improve public education in disadvantaged communities.
“I learn better when I use the app. It’s easier. It looks like a game,” 11-year-old Ana Clara da Silva said in Sao Goncalo, Vinicius’ birthplace on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
Photo: AFP
Da Silva attends the Visconde de Sepetiba municipal school, one of 10 in four Brazilian states to have received educational aid from the institute. About 4,500 students and 500 teachers have benefited from the project, launched in 2021. By the end of this year, it hopes to have reached 30 schools.
With no intention to replace human teachers, the app was designed as an aid.
Each pupil has a personal account, where their progress is logged as they answer questions presented in a playful, soccer-inspired way on subjects including mathematics, Portuguese or science.
In typical gaming format, each school year is presented as a “season” and each subject as a “match,” while the avatar “Vinizinho Jr” celebrates each correct answer as if it were a goal.
“We use the power of football, its playful character” to inspire the kids to learn, Vini Jr Institute executive manager Victor Oliveira said.
“Everything we learn, we put into practice on the app. It helps us learn because we are connected to our phones, but not disconnected from our studies,” 11-year-old Yuri Rodrigues said.
The institute, initially funded exclusively by Vinicius, but now counting other sponsors, also aims to tackle the scourge of racism in a country where more than half the population is black or of mixed race.
It has launched an anti-racism training manual and has provided instruction on the subject to about 80 teachers in the past year.
It is a subject dear to the Brazilian attacker, who has himself experienced several incidents of discrimination in Spain.
“He is very important to all of us,” 11-year-old Ana Clara said.
“I’m glad he never gives up, and because his voice reaches a wide audience, he can fight for us,” she said.
In October last year, Vinicius received the Socrates Award for charitable work at the Ballon d’Or annual soccer awards.
Last month, the 23-year-old was appointed as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, only the second Brazilian soccer player to receive the honor after Pele.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946