2022年11月04日 VOA慢速英语：FIFA：“最重要的项目”不是世界杯

 

This year's soccer World Cup in Qatar begins on November 20. But the international tournament is not FIFA's "most important project."
今年的卡塔尔足球世界杯将于11月20日开幕。但国际赛事并不是国际足联“最重要的项目”。
 
The world soccer organization says its top project is called Football for Schools.
世界足球组织称其顶级项目名为“校园足球”。
 
The plan is to provide soccer balls to schools around the world so 700 million children can learn about the game. The organization wants to give away 11 million balls and provide a mobile phone program, or app, so adults can teach children how to play.
该计划是向世界各地的学校提供​​足球，让 7 亿儿童能够了解这项运动。该组织希望赠送 1100 万个球并提供一个手机程序或应用程序，以便成年人可以教孩子们如何玩。
 
Fatimata Sow Sidibe heads the project for FIFA. The goal is to reach half the children in the world aged four to 14.
Fatimata Sow Sidibe 负责国际足联的项目。目标是覆盖全世界一半的 4 至 14 岁儿童。
 
The program started in 2019 but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It started again this year with a budget of $100 million.
该计划于 2019 年开始，但由于 COVID-19 大流行而被推迟。今年再次启动，预算为 1 亿美元。
 
That amount is about one percent of what Qatar spent building stadiums.
这一数额大约是卡塔尔建造体育场所花费的百分之一。
 
Steve Pila is running the project in South Africa. He called it "the most important project in the world of football." Football is another word for soccer.
史蒂夫·皮拉 (Steve Pila) 正在南非运行该项目。他称其为“足球界最重要的项目”。足球是足球的另一种说法。
 
Pila said the other part of the project – the coaching app for smart phones – is important. Many schools do not have a person trained in coaching soccer.
皮拉说，该项目的另一部分——智能手机教练应用程序——很重要。许多学校没有受过足球教练培训的人员。
 
"Even a teacher in the most rural area is able to take young boys and girls together, and at the palm of your hand, you have something to do with them," he said.
“即使是最偏远地区的老师也能把年轻的男孩和女孩带到一起，而且在你的手掌中，你与他们有关系，”他说。
 
Pila said the largest problem for soccer in South Africa is that there are not enough good coaches. The app "fills the gap just a little."
皮拉说，南非足球最大的问题是没有足够的优秀教练。该应用程序“填补了一些空白。”
 
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico and it is unlikely that the Football for Schools program will find the next big world star by then. Player development, especially among such young children, takes time.
2026 年世界杯将由美国、加拿大和墨西哥共同主办，届时“校园足球”项目不太可能找到下一个世界巨星。球员的发展，尤其是在这些年幼的孩子中，需要时间。
 
Sow Sidibe said it is hard to find investors in a project like this because it takes too long to see results.
Sow Sidibe 表示，在这样的项目中很难找到投资者，因为需要很长时间才能看到结果。
 
However, research shows that the best players in the world all had regular experience playing soccer before they turned 10. Lionel Messi played for a team in Argentina starting at the age of four. Cristiano Ronaldo played regularly by the time he was seven.
然而，研究表明，世界上最好的球员在 10 岁之前都有过踢足球的常规经验。莱昂内尔·梅西从 4 岁开始就在阿根廷的一支球队效力。克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多七岁时就经常上场。
 
FIFA said there are more than 500 million children in the world who do not play soccer very often.
国际足联表示，世界上有超过 5 亿儿童不经常踢足球。
 
Mzimkhulu Fina is with the South African Football Association. He said: "We are spreading the net now."
Mzimkhulu Fina 效力于南非足协。他说：“我们现在正在撒网。”
 
Football for Schools is centering its work on children in poor countries. It is already working in 18 countries and plans to start on the Caribbean Sea area next. In 2023 it will move to India where it hopes to reach 1.8 million children. Soccer officials want the program to move into all 211 countries that are members of FIFA.
Football for Schools 的工作重点是贫困国家的儿童。它已经在 18 个国家开展工作，并计划下一步在加勒比海地区开展工作。2023 年，它将搬到印度，希望能惠及 180 万儿童。足球官员希望该计划进入所有 211 个国际足联成员国。
 
Africa faces many difficulties. But 400 million children under the age of 10 live there and soccer is the top sport.
非洲面临许多困难。但那里有 4 亿 10 岁以下的儿童，而足球是最热门的运动。
 
Pila said many children who are interested in a soccer career must leave their homes. He gave an example of Sadio Mane of Senegal who plays for Bayern Munich in Germany. He is one of the world's best players, but he grew up in Bambali in southern Senegal. He had to leave for Dakar when he was a teenager so he could be discovered.
皮拉说，许多对足球事业感兴趣的孩子必须离开家。他举了一个塞内加尔的萨迪奥·马内（Sadio Mane）的例子，他在德国效力于拜仁慕尼黑。他是世界上最好的球员之一，但他在塞内加尔南部的班巴里长大。他十几岁的时候不得不去达喀尔，这样他才能被发现。
 
Pila said many other young people do this, but unlike Mane, "so many are missed."
皮拉说，许多其他年轻人都这样做，但与马内不同的是，“很多人都被错过了。”
 
Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast went on to play for Barcelona in Spain and Manchester City in Britain. He said there are good players in Africa, "but if they are not surrounded by all they need to be among the top … it's going to be difficult."
科特迪瓦的亚亚图雷继续为西班牙的巴塞罗那和英国的曼城效力。他说非洲有很多优秀的球员，“但如果他们没有被所有他们包围，他们需要成为顶级球员......这将是困难的。”
 
Pila said there is one more part of the Football for Schools program. Inside the app is a part about life skills. It tells young players that they will need more than their soccer skills to have a good life. The program is designed by UNESCO, the United Nations' education agency. UNESCO believes putting more soccer programs in schools will keep young students interested in attending class longer.
皮拉说，“学校足球”计划还有另一部分。应用程序内部是关于生活技能的部分。它告诉年轻球员，要过上美好的生活，他们需要的不仅仅是足球技能。该计划由联合国教育机构教科文组织设计。联合国教科文组织认为，在学校开设更多足球项目将使年轻学生对上课时间更感兴趣。
 
"You know football is not long-lived," Pila said. "You play it as long as you are under 35. Unless you are Cristiano Ronaldo."
“你知道足球不会长寿，”皮拉说。“只要你未满 35 岁，你就可以玩它。除非你是克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多。”