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Ronaldinho and Brazilian national soccer
coach Dunga pose during launch of Ronaldinho institute for poor children
in Porto Alegre (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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>>> | RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 27
(Xinhua) -- Soccer star Ronaldo de Assis, better known as Ronaldinho, opened a
school for 3,500 poor children in the central Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, at
a public ceremony on Wednesday.
"This is something I have always dreamed of doing,"
Rondaldinho told media before bursting into tears.
The school will go into operation on March 27, the
player's birthday. It will be financed from donations from the school's
partners, individuals, the state and private companies.
School director Roberto de Assis, Ronaldinho's
brother, said that the children will learn sport, IT, languages, acting and
music, and enjoy support in all school disciplines.
"If a great talent appears in this school, that it
excellent. However that is not the point. We wish to give these children an
opportunity to grow and learn," said the school director.
The Ronaldinho Institute, which covers nearly 120,000
square meters, will employ 100 staff including doctors, dentists and teachers.
The school has a soccer field that meets the
standards set by the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA),
as well as 47,000 square meters of forest, two multi-purpose soccer fields, two
tennis pitches, two swimming pools and a 4,000-seat gym.
Sports minister Orlando Silva and Brazil national
team manager Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, better known as Dunga, were among the
celebrities at the ceremony.
Ronaldinho, twice FIFA world player of the year, was
born in a Porto Alegre shantytown.
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