Flamengo Regatta Club has partnered with the Pacification Police Units and the State Department of Sports, Leisure and Youth to recruit players for the club's youth academy. Flamengo's selection process will include groups of players from communities pacified by the UPPs. Starting next Monday (13), Flamengo will welcome 35 athletes for a five-day selection process at the George Helal Training Center.

"When our recruitment department sought coordination of the UPP, it was with the intention of recruiting potential athletes for the club at younger ages. We want to be present in these areas, as we believe that good talent ends up being lost due to lack of opportunities. The selected young people will spend a week training with us at CT George Helal, where they will get to know the entire structure we have for our youth category," explained Luiz Carlos Azevedo, Flamengo's Recruitment Coordinator.

Each UPP will nominate one athlete from each category to participate in the project, which aims to recruit new athletes for Flamengo's youth teams and provide them with a new perspective on the sport. At the club, they will receive training uniforms, a lecture on the selection process, an introduction to the sport, a tour of the Training Center, and, as a conclusion to the selection, they will play a training match against Flamengo's team in that category on the last day (17). The players who advance will spend two weeks of training integrated into their category for adaptation before being approved to join the Mais Querido youth team.

The first group will have 35 athletes aged 12 to 13. New groups will be formed in the future to recruit players from other age groups. 

"We, at the State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth, are certain that the children and young people who will participate in this project will have an incredible experience. For many of them, it will be a dream come true. We know the greatness that Clube de Regatas do Flamengo represents, and only through sports can we change the reality of our youth. We are very happy with this partnership, which has everything to be a success," said Marco Antônio Cabral, State Secretary of Sports, Recreation, and Youth.

In addition to the referral, the UPPs will also be responsible for delivering the athletes' clinical exams and transporting them to the Training Center.

"I'm delighted that these children, who already participate in our sports projects, have the opportunity to connect with the great club that is Flamengo. I hope they are inspired by their great idols, as this partnership will undoubtedly uncover new talent. It's a magical opportunity in the life of a child living in a community," said Colonel André Silva de Mendonça, Coordinator of the Pacification Police.