Investigation of the Forjadores de talento project in Callao

The Prosecutor's Office and Anti-Corruption Office in Callao are investigating the Forjadores de talento project, a program promoted by Governor Dante Mandriotti where former football players become teachers of the sport.

Due to the COVID-19 emergency, classes are not in-person but virtual. The peculiarity is that they are not live broadcasts, but recorded videos teaching minors.

According to Mandriotti, the program was intended to reach 89 schools, which represents around 50,000 students.

Among the teachers or "coordinators" of the plan are Puchungo Yáñez, Roberto Farfán, Mario Gómez, Omar Zegarra, and Miguel Rebosio.

For these videos, the Regional Government paid up to 16,100 soles to a single teacher or coordinator. High figures that do not match the result of the project, as even the visual and audio quality of the product is not optimal.

The initiative also has no impact on social media. They do not go beyond a few likes and some shares. In some cases, coordinators (teachers) were paid up to 6,500 soles per month for these classes.

There were even job advertisements for "zonal sports coordinator" with salaries of 8,400 soles, and some others for 4,200 soles, all funded by the region.

The region, in a statement, responded that they were hired because they are native to Callao, former national team players, qualified athletes, and that only some have coaching certification.

They clarified that they are not teachers, but coordinators, and that they decided to liquidate the activity in June to reformulate it. Virtual classes were never formally held. Authorities continue with the investigations.