Ecuador: Ecuadorian football fans are holding on to hope that the national team can deliver a strong World Cup run, offering a rare moment of joy as the country grapples with worsening violence and instability. Across the country, many provinces remain under a state of emergency. Security forces are deployed in large numbers to combat rising crime linked to drug trafficking. Night curfews are common, a fuel crisis has disrupted daily life, and tensions remain high along the border with Colombia.
According to United News of Bangladesh, despite the turmoil, optimism around Ecuador’s national team, La Tri, remains strong. The team qualified second in South America behind world champions Argentina, losing only twice in 18 matches, both narrow away defeats in Argentina and Brazil. Fans believe this squad has the potential to go further than ever before, possibly beyond their best performance of reaching the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Mario Uquillas, a 43-year-old shopkeeper in downtown Guayaquil, expressed his hope by investing in a giant TV on credit to watch Ecuador in the World Cup. At the very least, he hopes the team reaches the quarterfinals, believing they deserve it. In markets like La Baha in Guayaquil, merchants are capitalizing on World Cup excitement, selling jerseys featuring stars such as Arsenal defender Piero Hincapi©, Chelsea midfielder Mois©s Caicedo, and Paris Saint-Germain defender Willian Pacho.
Hincapi© has recently gained attention after Arsenal won the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years, adding to national pride. Fans may soon see more success stories as Hincapi© and Pacho prepare to meet in the Champions League final next weekend. However, the backdrop to Ecuador’s football dream is grim. Local football has not escaped the country’s violence, with five players killed last year and three others dying in separate attacks.
One of the most shocking incidents occurred last December in northern Guayaquil when gunmen killed Mario Pineida, a former national team player and defender for Barcelona SC. He was shot while at a butcher shop with his mother and partner. His partner died, and his mother was injured, with the motive remaining unclear. Guayaquil, located about 270 kilometers southwest of Quito, ranks among the most violent cities in the Americas, according to Numbeo’s crime index. Ecuador recorded 9,216 violent deaths last year, with a rate of 50.1 per 100,000 people, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime.
Rising insecurity has changed daily life, especially in poor neighborhoods where children once played freely in the streets but now often stay indoors after dark due to fear of shootings and robberies. Still, football continues to offer hope, particularly through clubs like Barcelona SC, the country’s most popular team. Its youth academy provides a rare safe space for children, including nearly 300 trainees.
Ten-year-old Piero Ortega, who has trained at the academy for five years, dreams of playing for PSG or Real Madrid and becoming a professional footballer. Another young player, Washington Vera, also dreams of representing Ecuador internationally, aspiring to play for the national team and score goals as a right winger.
Academy coordinator Enrique Benavides notes that insecurity has forced families to rely on such structured programs. With fear entering every community and nobody feeling safe anymore, children can only train at the academy since playing in the streets is no longer possible. For many Ecuadorians, the World Cup represents more than football. It is a brief escape from daily fear and hardship.
Guayaquil lawyer Daniel S¡nchez highlighted this sentiment, stating that earlier, they only dreamed of qualifying, but now they hope for the quarterfinals or even semifinals. Barcelona SC sporting director Matas Oyola believes the national team can continue its strong form, noting their excellent performance in qualifying and hoping the World Cup could be a continuation of that success.