The days of Julio Cesar Dely Valdcs being the only famous Panamanian footballer with experience of playing abroad are long gone. Today, you can find professional footballers from Panama in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria and Poland.
”You can’t compare football in Panama today to that of 15 years ago,” insists Panama captain and centre-half Felipe Baloy, who plays his club football tor Rayados de Monterrey in Mexico. “We used to be happy with an honourable defeat, but now we command respect in the entire region and our national team only thinks about winning.”
Successful qualifying campaigns for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2005 and the UNCAF Cup 2007 have instilled new confidence in Panamanian football and there is no hint of arrogance when Baloy says, “Panama’s goal now has to be to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I am convinced that we can make that dream come true. We have a good team and a coach who knows how to lead a ream to a World Cup.”
The man in question is Alexandre Guimaraes, a coach with dual Brazilian-Costa Rican nationality who has already taken part in three World Cups — as a player with Costa Rica in 1990 and twice as Costa Rica coach in 2002 and 2006. After being appointed as Panama coach in late 2006, the 48-year-old promptly led his new charges to UNCAF Cup glory in El Salvador just a few months later.

Panama have suffered their fair share of defeats and disappointments over the years, but in recent times no other CONCACAF team has made as much progress as this Central American country that is now daring to dream about the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
There were times when people in CONCACAF football circles would have a good laugh about Panamanian football. The Panamanian football association (FEPAFUT), founded in 1937 and a member of FIFA since 1938, went through a long, tortuous period of defeat after defeat, often failing to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, die prestigious continental championship for the North, Central America and Caribbean zone, never mind a FIFA tournament. Defeats such as an embarrassing 11-0 thrashing ar home by neighbouring Costa Rica in 1938 were not exactly uncommon.
How rimes have changed, for rhe former “whipping boys” now have new hope. Today, nobody need be ashamed ro admit that they support Panama. By June 2007, the national team had clambered to 52-nd in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and today they sit in 64-th place, just behind Peru, a nation with a rich footballing tradition. By way of comparison: in 1995, Panama were still in 150-th place.
That so much progress has been achieved so quickly can be put down to FEPAFUT and its determination to improve domestic football structures and create more efficiency and professionalism at all levels, not least in youth development work. Indeed, Panama did not have to wait long to reap the benefits as their U-20 team has now qualified for the last three FIFA U-20 World Cups.

The future of Israeli football has perhaps never looked so bright. An influx of riches, of foreign players and the ending of Maccabi Haifa’s virtual monopoly of the title has escalated interest in the Ligat ha’Al, the Israeli premier league, like never before. As is happening everywhere, money has started to talk loudly in Israeli football. The writing was on the wall after the takeover of Beitar Jerusalem by Arkady Gaydamak in 2005 and the Russian-born billionaire – whose son Alexandre owns Portsmouth in the English Premier League – poured funds into the club. The results have been almost immediate: after ten years playing second fiddle to Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar were crowned league champions last season. It is not just club football in Israel that is thriving, so too are the country’s international sides. Since joining UEFA in the 1990s, Israel have not qualified for a major tournament, but there are encouraging signs that may augur change in the years to come. The senior Israel team failed marginally to qualify for EURO 2008, finishing level on points with England. The future looks sparkling; a victory for the U-21 side over France meant they qualified for the European Under-21 Championship in June 2007 for the first time, the country’s greatest footballing achievement since reaching the 1976 Olympic Games. In younger age groups, things look even better – Israel reached the final of the European Under-17 Championship in 2005 and have also been promising at U-19 level. The only clouds on the horizon are those challenges that often accompany football’s success. Around 50 people were injured, two seriously, when Beitar fans invaded the pitch towards the end of last season – landing the club with the punishment of playing their next four matches at least 50km from their stadium – and all behind closed doors. That was not the only controversy to rear its head last season either – Beitar’s nearest rivals, Maccabi Tel Aviv, were docked two points for financial irregularities, all but handing the title to the Jerusalem side. If these problems can be handled and the game in Israel continues to develop, then there will be exciting times ahead.