09 December 1999

Bonn, Germany: Ricardo Carugati, a 43-year-old Argentinean, has been living in Gaza for nearly three years. As a UN Volunteer, he has taken up the interesting position as official trainer of the Palestinian football team. Jean-Luc Bories, UNV Programme Manager in Gaza and the West Bank, spoke with the football coach. Here are excerpts from his interview:

"I started as a UNV on the White Helmet Initiative project to develop sporting activities in Gaza in February 1997. For four months I went around to Palestinian refugee camps to encourage youth to become more active in sports - a positive way to channel the energy of young people who account for more than 50 per cent of the population of Gaza. Later the president of the football federation asked me to train the Palestinian team that was coming up against Jordan during the inauguration of Jericho's stadium in June 1997. Mr. Yasser Arafat was in the crowd. The game ended in a draw and the morale of the Palestinians rose up several degrees.

At the end of the project, I returned home to Argentina. I then returned under another White Helmet project to work with the football team for six months. My contract was then extended for six more months, then by another year. I train the team technically and theoretically on how to play good football and to win. I wrote a manual on football techniques that the Olympic committee distributed to the (football) clubs. My role has earned visibility and the popular game has crystallized the identity of the Palestinian people. There are thousands of young people in the Palestinian Territories and I am pleased to have been able to motivate them.

The team and I have played in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and in Syria. My best memory of UNV is the day of the inauguration of the stadium in Jericho, built with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japanese Government. More than 20,000 people in the stadium shouted, "Palestine"! Mr. Arafat was there and had tears in his eyes. You cannot forget a moment like that. He received me in his residence in the West Bank. During the last game, he called us in Jordan to congratulate the team and me.

I have received support and incredible hospitality from the Palestinians. I like it here!"

As Jean-Luc Bories told him that his contract would be extended for another year, the UNV exclaimed: "Maravilloso! Once again I thank the Palestinians, the football federation, the United Nations Volunteers and the UNDP."