Jorge Valdano was a remarkable player. Champion of the world with Argentina of Maradona in 1986 and goleador with Real Madrid of the Quinta del Buitre. He then had a short career as a coach, where he highlighted a few years for his conception of attacking and flashy football. But, perhaps, more than by his exploits on the pitch or on the bench, Valdano has managed to be remembered for being a great builder of aphorisms. He was the creator of the concept "scenic fear" to refer to what felt the teams who visited the Bernabeu stadium, and from it also comes a phrase that ensures that "football is the most important thing among the less important things." Of course the importance of football, as a spectacle and global phenomenon, can not be confined to what is happening on the pitch. Their influence on the lives of many people transcends the fact that some boys get or do not insert the ball into the goal. That influence, that power of seduction for the children of almost the entire planet, is what inspired Jessica O. Matthews to invent Soccket Ball, a ball capable of turning the kicks it receives into electrical energy and accumulating it to be used later as a source of light.
Matthews designed and produced his invention when he was only 19, and at 22 he had founded Uncharted Play, a company dedicated to making toys for developing countries that generate energy while they are used. Those who live in the more opulent West are not aware that pushing a switch and lighting a light bulb is not the norm in many parts of the world. The absence of electric current is a serious problem that hurts the learning of millions of children, because it limits the hours they can devote to study and learning. Uncharted Play's proposals can help to alleviate these shortcomings, making it a natural and fun way too, since there is nothing that costs a child less effort than to spend their time playing.
Matthews, a Harvard graduate and of Nigerian origin, said in an interview to the Business Insider that she used to joke that she wanted to be a perfect match between "Bill Nye (a famous science popularizer for children) and Beyoncé." At this point, Matthews' vocal qualities will not lead him to succeed with Single Ladies, but his ideas can leave an important mark on the development of thousands of children. "Football is not a matter of life or death, it's much more important than that," said once Bill Shakly, Liverpool's historic coach; Of course, he was wrong. But life can be better with football thanks to ideas like Jessica O. Matthews's ball and the rest of her projects to provide renewable and economical energy sources to many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is not just a question of money, he says, but of will: "we work in places where people are the great resource. It is not what comes from the earth, it is what comes from our souls, from our bodies. We have to be able to see that as a resource and as a true value to the world. "
Interview and edition: Zuberoa Marcos, Noelia Núñez, Douglas Belisario
Text: José L. Álvarez Cedena
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