Popular Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha has revealed the challenges he faced at the start of his career due to the conditions in his home country while growing up as a footballer.

According to him, limited infrastructural development hampered his growth earlier and that of many talented players, preventing them from reaching their full potential.

He added that even brilliant players who secured opportunities to travel to Europe or other countries often struggled with visa acquisition, which sometimes ended their dreams prematurely.

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“To fight for the visa is the first challenge. Even though we have a lot of quality in a small country, it’s hard. When you are in Cape Verde, no one can watch you. We don’t have the facilities or the conditions. We have a lot of talent, but many never had the opportunity to go to Europe. To still be here at 40 years old is because I really have this passion.

"In football, you are always around people, but for me, it was difficult because I dreamed of being a professional player. In our country, the chance to become a professional in sport is tiny, very small. Because we are African, we are Cape Verdean, and first of all, you have to fight harder,” he said during an interview with CBS Mornings.

In a light-hearted moment, one of the journalists asked the goalkeeper if he was single, to which Vozinha replied “Yes,” sparking laughter in the studio.

The veteran goalkeeper is now looking forward to securing a contract with a club in America, Europe, or elsewhere following his World Cup heroics, where he kept clean sheets against finalist Spain.

Watch the video below:

Vozinha, the Cape Verde goalkeeper who helped his team hold its own against soccer heavyweights during the World Cup, says that getting to share his team’s talents on the world stage is “the best thing that can happen.”

Vozinha shares about playing with passion, how becoming a… pic.twitter.com/toTGiR0G8A

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 16, 2026