Is Soccer The Ticket Out Of Rio Poverty?

On a muddy pitch in a Rio slum, a skinny 17-year-old with big dreams of football stardom struts his stuff to attract the attention of talent-spotters watching a local tournament. Alan Viera is one of 800 teenagers taking part in the Favelas Cup, a tournament that draws players from 80 local shantytowns. In this soccer-mad nation of 194 million people, which will host the 2014 World Cup, "the beautiful game" is a ticket out of poverty for millions of poor youths. Viera lives in Mata Machado, a sm...