Bolivia is last in the Qualifiers, but has an ambitious project: it put its youth players in Brazilian teams to inject them with another DNA

Peru y Bolivia They will cross their paths in the stadium Hernando Siles from La Paz to participate in the fifth date of the South American Qualifiers 2026. From the football space, the history is usually favorable for the ‘red and white‘, although when it comes to confrontations on highland soil, the balance tips towards ‘verde’.

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However, to the surprise of many, the situation changes radically when it refers to training stages. The problem of promoting young values ​​in Peru It is becoming more and more accentuated, because there are no technical or infrastructure conditions. In fact, the absence of a sports culture makes the possibility of new talents emerging seem distant.

On the contrary, Bolivia has gotten down to work with the work on minor divisions thinking about future eliminatory processes. In recent years, what’s more, the Bolivia 2022 Projecta plan whose goal is to form a large group of young players who can be exported before they come of age and in their new legionary clubs can grow both football-wise and culturally.

Behind the ideology is Spanish Jordi Mola, the general director who left aside his work in Barcelona’s youth teams (between 2011 and 2015) to bet on the future of Bolivian football. “After being here for a while I realized what No matter how badly we did it, it would be much more than what is currently done,” Mola said at the beginning of 2023, recognizing that “there are very few clubs that work professionally in their lower divisions; “There isn’t one, they don’t invest, they see it as an expense, they don’t see it as something meaningful.”

The dedication to Bolivia 2022 Project It paid off over time. Its greatest exponent today is Miguel Tercerosa young 19-year-old midfielder who belongs to the historic Santos FC and that he has earned a place in the national team that competes in the Qualifiers 2026. “The signing was through a tour that we carried out with the Bolivia 2022 project in Brazil and we played with several teams. Thank God everything went well and we were able to stay and we have been here for 4 years,” he mentioned.

The one born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, likewise, is one of the budding stars for the ‘fish‘; so the board has shielded him with an exorbitant termination clause that borders on 100 million euros. He is currently the most valuable footballer in the ‘verde‘, to which he hopes to contribute a lot in the coming years: “I feel prepared to help my team and I will continue working here to gain more minutes in the professional team.”

The other two highland footballers – who usually appear in the senior team although they have not yet established themselves 100% – are the defender Leonardo Zabala and the forward Enzo Monteiro. Both also arrived at Santos through the Bolivia 2022 Project and are waiting for their moment to write their own history in the national squad. Specifically, at least in this game of development of training divisions, Bolivia already has an important advantage Peru.