Panama City (AFP) – Bryan Oliva, 12, runs along a field of yellowish, overgrown grass in a populous neighborhood of San Salvador. He dreams of being a professional soccer player, but his talent is not enough to make it a reality in a Central America where the ball goes backwards.

First modification: 10/11/2026 - 13:18

Honduran Darixon Rivas, 11, has the same dream. Every afternoon he trains in a mud field, but first he must work on the family ranch in La Abisinia, a remote village in Colón (north).

"You earn a lot (of money as a soccer player), but I don't feel like it's possible for me," admits Bryan in Zacamil, a neighborhood of multi-family buildings in the Salvadoran capital.

Excited about helping his family financially, he believes that for young people from humble sectors like his it is "very difficult" for talent hunters to discover them, since the few opportunities usually come in more privileged areas.

Poverty permeates almost everything in Central America, with approximately half of its people in that condition. But football's problems go further: with some exceptions, investment in infrastructure and talent training is scarce.

"We have a long way to go," recently admitted the president of the Salvadoran Federation, Yamil Bukele, who is promoting a plan to strengthen the lower categories.

- Involution -

The consequences are clear: only Panama and Guatemala qualified for the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Nations League, which starts on Thursday.

In fact, Panama was the only Central American team in the recent World Cup in North America, where the Caribbean countries Curaçao and Haiti represented Concacaf.

In the case of El Salvador, their last participation in a World Cup was 44 years ago, at the height of their striker Jorge "Mágico" González, considered the best Central American player of the 20th century.

Since then, more than 40 coaches have passed through his bench, currently in the hands of the Colombian World Cup player Hernán Darío Gómez.

Honduras, led by the Spaniard José Francisco Molina, has also lived on memories for some time. His last World Cup was Brazil 2014.

In that event the clock stopped for Costa Rica, which has never again had a team like the one that surprised by reaching the quarterfinals. Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize never went to a World Cup.

"There has been a regression," Argentine Diego Vázquez, former Honduras coach (2022-2023), told AFP. "The minor leagues must be organized and governments must also invest," he added.

For former Panamanian international Víctor René Mendieta, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica "neglected" the training of new talents.

Costa Ricans and Hondurans in particular "believe that the coaches are to blame, when in reality it is that their mine (...) has been running out and they do not have the capacity to compete with the emerging forces of the Caribbean," Salvadoran journalist Bruno Porzio tells AFP.

No mourners

With almost 50 million inhabitants, Central America has about 4,400 professional soccer players spread mainly across 68 teams, according to FIFA figures from 2024.

However, local competitions, without stars or renowned coaches, have a discreet level and only a handful of players exceed $5,000 in monthly salary.

Most teams lack minor league affiliates and training centers. Many clubs also play in small artificial grass stadiums.

"In El Salvador, big businessmen stopped being interested in soccer" and the leaders are not interested in "leaving a legacy," says Bruno Porzio. In Honduras, for their part, the managers "want to stay for life," Honduran coach Reynaldo Tilguath underlines to AFP.

Central America also does not have players in major leagues that help raise the level of its teams, unlike Haiti, Suriname or Curacao, full of footballers forged in Europe.

Panama is "working better" in training, "the rest of us are staying," said Tilguath.

Meanwhile, at the top of the mountain in La Abisinia, Darixon and his friends share the field with horses and cows and try to beat the goals made of rusty sticks.

One of them is wearing a Lionel Messi t-shirt, while another wears clothing full of images of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Honduran soccer "is damaged (...), look at how this little field is, our parents also came to play here," says Darixon.

© 2026 AFP

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