The departments of Nariño, Cauca, and Valle del Cauca in the southwestern corner of Colombia are viewed with concern. They are crossed by multiple forms of violence unleashed by various illegal armed groups that keep the National Government in check and constitute a permanent multidimensional threat to youth. But projects have emerged that show boys that in football there is hope and they can find opportunities.
Several boys from municipalities in those departments now play in leagues in Argentina, Peru, and Spain thanks to an initiative, a comprehensive training model that has become one of the most outstanding youth academies in the country. For example, in Argentina, a benchmark market due to its technical demands, players trained at Incauca Futbol Club have joined the ranks of Racing Club de Avellaneda and Club Atletico Talleres de Cordoba.
Young Colombian talents, to Argentina and Peru
They are Juan Camilo Trujillo, born in Popayan, Cauca, in 2007, from the Under-20 category, a wide midfielder who joins Racing Club in Avellaneda; and Jhon Edwin Rosero, born in Tumaco, Nariño, in 2008, from the Under-19 category, a winger forward who joins Club Atletico Talleres in Cordoba. This expansion also reaches Peru with the incorporation, by FBC Melgar of Arequipa, of Luis Fernando Valencia, a right back born in Tumaco, Nariño, in 2007, from the Under-20 category.
Aware that their discipline is a tool for building the country, the players carry with them the energy of a region that, despite the concerns it raises, now projects the potential of its youth to the world.
“Being today at Talleres de Cordoba is fulfilling a part of that dream that I had longed for since I was very young, which was to play outside my country,” says Rosero excitedly, without forgetting his origin: “Incauca FC was a fundamental piece in my growth and development. It was the club that bet on me and trusted my talent when perhaps no one else did. I will always carry them in my heart because thanks to their constant support today I am where I am, moving toward the goal I always dreamed of.”
For his part, Trujillo, now at Racing de Avellaneda, speaks about what this step means. “It is fulfilling one of those dreams that any young person who loves football has always longed for. Thank God the opportunity came to me. From the moment they saw me, they became interested in me, gave me confidence and made me feel at home. Everything I am living today I owe to them, who helped push me and show my game. It will always be my team and it will always be my home.”
The focus is also set on Europe
But the club that saw them grow as footballers and propelled these three young players in South America also has an important projection toward Europe. Four other players from its academy have been invited to participate in the Oviedo Cup 2026, held in Asturias, one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Spain and which serves as a scouting platform for the main talent scouts in Europe.
There will be Pricheer Ibarbo, who plays as a center back and is from Miranda, Cauca; Santiago Rojas, a forward, born in Cali, Valle del Cauca; Tomas Garcia, a defensive midfielder, also born in Cali; and Andres Escobar, an interior midfielder who was born in Palmira, Valle del Cauca. All were born in 2009 and are from the Under-17 category.
Since its creation in 2021, Incauca Futbol Club has supported around 1,000 young people, managing to place 52 players in professional football. This success is based on a free and high-performance training approach, where the Club assumes technical, physical, and psychosocial preparation, in addition to guaranteeing benefits such as uniforms, transportation, and food that reaffirm the main purpose: to transform lives with energy, turning sport into a real bridge toward the personal and professional development of youth in the complex southwestern region of Colombia.