Paola Alvarado Freer played professional soccer for several years. She was a national champion and played a Sub 20 World Cup with the Costa Rican National Team. However, knee injuries forced her to retire and see this sport from another angle. Although she moved away from it for a few years, she decided to return in another facet.
Alvarado works for FIFA at the World Cup in Qatar as one of the managers of the pre-match shows. In each of the matches there were cheerleaders from different countries, for example, from Costa Rica there was Max Barberena. It is up to the Costa Rican to direct all those moments, which are important and encourage the atmosphere at the World Cup.
“I’m a freelance, so because of the work I did in Costa Rica in the Under 20 World Cup, one of the people in charge called me to do the group stage events, I had to work in the pre-show, in everything that had to do with animation in the stadium, with the presenters and entertainment,” she explained.
Close to the stars
Tica had to be close to players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. She worked in 8 games, including Portugal-Cameroon, Poland-Argentina, as well as Canada-Belgium and Wales-England. Her experience in Qatar allowed her to “escape” and watch two of the three “La Sele” games. She was in the duel against Japan and on Thursday against Germany.
Her trajectory
“I was a professional player with Saprissa and San José, I was a national champion in the First Division with both teams. I went to the 2010 World Cup in Germany with the Sub 20”.
This is how Alvarado summed up her time in soccer: “I retired due to knee injuries, got away from soccer for a bit and came back a couple of years ago studying for a master’s degree in soccer business,” she added. She is a professional in physical education, sports and recreation, with more than 10 years of experience, and has a master’s degree in Educational Management with an emphasis in Leadership. Also working as a teacher in various educational centers as a physical educator.
