sport
Youth Sports in Bogotá: How to Get Involved and What You Need to Know to Start
Programs run by established organisations offer clear entry points for young people seeking to join organised sport across the city.
How we reported this
LA Liga’s first Schools centre in Bogotá, opened in partnership with Compensar, gives families a direct route into grassroots football development that stands as the only active programme of its kind in South America.
Youth sport participation matters because it combines physical activity with structured training that helps at-risk young people build skills for life beyond the field. In a city where multiple organisations already run targeted programmes, knowing which groups operate and what they require removes the main barrier for families looking to begin.
Established programmes and entry points
Tiempo de Juego works in the Cazuca district to deliver football training that carries FIFA approval for its empowerment approach. Alset Bolton, formed in 2013, supports more than 1,200 young Colombians each year with competitive sport access while adding preparation for education and work. ESPN’s multifunctional sports space in Ciudad Bolívar runs the A Ganar programme that teaches employability skills through sport. Bossaball has been integrated since November 2015 into the IDRD-funded Jornada Completa programme aimed at at-risk youth. These organisations focus on vulnerable neighbourhoods and maintain ongoing sessions rather than one-off events.
Practical steps to begin
Families start by contacting the partner organisations directly through their known community locations or district offices. Programmes typically accept participants across a wide age range and place emphasis on regular attendance and basic equipment such as appropriate footwear and clothing. No specialised prior experience is required at entry level, and several groups combine training with additional workshops on life skills. Residents in districts such as Cazuca and Ciudad Bolívar can reach the nearest listed programme through local IDRD or Compensar channels to confirm current session times and registration details.
Continued involvement depends on consistent participation and communication with the delivering organisation, which maintains the standards set by their respective approvals and partnerships.