Eight young people will participate in the First Youth World Cup of the Ancestral Sport of the Maya Ball Game.
A delegation of 14 members from Yucatán will represent Mexico in the First Youth World Cup of the Ancestral Sport of the Maya Ball Game, which will be held in El Salvador from November 28 to December 1, with 120 players, both men and women, invited.
Yesterday, the president of the Association of Indigenous and Traditional Sports Games of Yucatán, José de Jesús Manrique Esquivel, stated that youth teams aged 14 to 16 from Belize, Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, and Mexico will participate in the World Cup.
“It is the first time the youth cup will be held, featuring new talents who are pushing to revalue our Maya ball game, ‘Pok Ta Pok’. The team consists of eight players, a coach, an assistant coach, two delegates, a parent, a technical assistant, and myself, the president of the association, but I will attend independently as I represent the seven countries affiliated with this group,” he said.
The president of the Central American, Caribbean, and North American Association of the Ancestral Sport of the Maya Ball Game, and secretary of Sports of the Indigenous Government of Yucatán, added that representing Mexico in the First Youth World Cup of the Ancestral Sport of the Maya Ball Game is a pride but also a responsibility.
“It is a sport that was forgotten for many years. Remember that Fray Diego de Landa banned it on July 12, 1562, when he wanted to impose his religion on the Maya brothers. From that moment, our game was forgotten and was reborn in 2007. For us, achieving the revival of this game is a true pride and honor in memory of our Maya ancestors,” he explained.
He added that the effort to popularize the Maya ball game has been a challenge due to the significant number of sports disciplines. He mentioned that they are working to revalue this ancestral sport and have proposed to the State Government’s Department of Education that it be included as a subject in public schools.
He also called on government authorities and the private sector to support the practice of the Maya ball game.
Source: Sipse
