Quebec girl invited by Real Madrid to play soccer in Spain
Eva Labrie Fabricio, 14, is about to live the dream of her lifetime — walking onto the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
“As a baby, I always loved to play with the ball. I was that little athletic baby,” she said. “I never played with Barbies. It was always soccer balls, or basketballs.”
She’s been playing soccer since the age of four and is currently part of an intensive soccer program at École secondaire de Neufchâtel near Quebec City.
“I love to dribble with the ball to show my talent to others. It makes me forget my problems,” said Fabricio, adding her natural love for the sport comes from her Brazilian blood. “I was born with it, you know, it’s in my heart. I can’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I don’t like football anymore.'”
Last summer, Fabricio was invited to participate in a camp led by coaches from the Real Madrid Academy in Quebec — one of the few girls to do so.
“I had to show them [the boys] that I wasn’t intimidated by them,” she told CTV News. “It’s something that motivated me to be better, to show them that I’m good… Some boys ended up on the floor because of me. It was really incredible.”
Eva Fabricio participates in a camp led by coaches from the Real Madrid Academy in Quebec. (Courtesy: Celeste Fabricio)
Her performance at the camp earned her an invitation to the club’s international conference in Spain next April.
“It consists of a series of training sessions conducted by coaches of the Real Madrid Foundation and cultural activities in the City of Madrid,” according to Kaptiva Sports Travel S.L., the agency organizing the clinic with the Real Madrid Foundation.
“After the summer camp, some players are invited to the RMF Clinic because of their good performance,” explains Marta López, a representative with the agency. “Regarding the number of girls that are invited, we don’t have a specific number, as it depends on the grades of all players.”
It’s a dream come true for Fabricio, who says she wants to follow in the footsteps of her idols, Real Madrid alumni Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Zinedine Zidane.
Eva Fabricio kicks a soccer ball. (Courtesy: Celeste Fabricio)
The family has started a fundraiser to help the teen cover the cost of her week-long trip — $8,325 for accommodation, meals, training and airfare.
“I would feel awful,” she sighed. “It’s one of my dreams to be a professional football player, and this could give me an opportunity… I love to play football, and to think that I could not play football in Spain makes me feel bad.”
Fabricio says she hopes participating in the Real Madrid camp will be a launching pad to one day being the next Marta, a Brazilian footballer widely regarded as the best female soccer player of all time.
