TC Energía transforms a community with new soccer field

In January of this year, about 10 minutes from Parador Cazadero at kilometer 143 of the Mexico-Querétaro highway, located at the center of Mexico, there was an empty sandlot. Even the slightest breeze would lift the dust, covering houses, cars, and people. Today, in that same space, there is a soccer field donated by TC Energía as part of an agreement with the members of the Ejido council of that community. However, no one expected the magnitude of the project.

"The Ejido's Commissioner told me, 'You exceeded all expectations!'" says Ana Moreno, from our Stakeholder Engagement team in San Juan del Río, Querétaro, where Parador Cazadero is.

Standing in front of the brand-new soccer field, that has bleachers for 370 people, synthetic grass, bathrooms, and locker rooms, Francisco Valerio, the Ejido Commissioner in the town of Cazadero, San Juan del Río, says, "Many kids come here and practice for two or three hours, and they forget about their cell phones or worse things. Because there are a lot of young people who have nothing to do. And instead of thinking about bad things, now they come here, get motivated, and forget about all that. What a pride it would be for the community if tomorrow a young person became a professional and came from here!"

The Field of Dreams

"We have received very positive comments from many people," says Ana Moreno, "for example, from the children who pass by the street next to it. Many stop to look at the field, and they just want the evening to come because that's when they have the chance to go out and play on the field. And, well, from the moms and local authorities, the comments have been very positive. They even started comparing: 'a certain community doesn't have one' or 'in another community, they only made a dirt field, without grass'... They are definitely very satisfied."

Christian, 12 years old, is one of those kids. He is in the sixth grade at the 20 de Noviembre elementary school, very close by. "I come to train with about four or five friends. The field is very nice. They did a good job. I really like how big it is," he says. Jéssica, his mother, agrees. She says her son has played on other local fields, but none compared to this one.

The field was officially inaugurated on July 16 by our Vice President of External Relations, Rafael García, and the governor of the state, Mauricio Kuri. However, since its construction was completed last May, it has been used to train a team to participate in the inaugural game against a children's team from the capital city of Querétaro.

"With these projects, we are changing the lives of hundreds of people. By teaming up with Cazadero, we are closer to bringing natural gas to the state and the region," explains Rafael.

The community of Cazadero is located in an area through which a segment of our Tula-Villa de Reyes (TVDR) system passes.

New Field, New Team

After building the field, the idea was to form a team of boys and girls to represent the community in the opening game. For this, Valerio sought out Federico Paredes, a local industrial engineer who has been playing soccer since he was 12 years old. Today, he is 50.

"I looked for the coach because he has always loved soccer. He still plays. We played together on teams when we were younger. That's why I invited him. And on the first day, around 50 or 60 kids showed up. He didn't know what to do: 'if 10 or 20 show up, I can manage them well, but 50 or 60...!' The good thing is that other young people joined him to help," says Valerio.

Thus, after weeks of preparing for the inaugural match, Paredes is confident that they will deliver good results. "I believe this field will be very useful for the community. For now, it’s the novelty. Many kids are interested in coming to see it. So, they come to train. And thanks to that, you no longer see them on the streets or glued to their cell phones," he says.

Currently, there are 40 boys and 15 girls training two days a week (Wednesdays and Fridays), three hours each day. "It's mixed training. We do activities to promote the integration of boys with girls," explains the coach

One Goal out of Three

The soccer field is the first of three projects that TC Energía is developing as part of an aid initiative for the Cazadero community. In addition to the completed soccer field, a bullring located just a few meters away is being remodeled.

Furthermore, work is underway to repair a street that connects the soccer field with the bullring. These projects are expected to be completed by November.

The soccer field, the bullring, and the street are part of the legacy that our TVDR system leaves in this community. It is important to highlight that this pipeline also passes through the state of Hidalgo, which will allow us to replicate these types of actions there, generating a very positive social benefit for the community.