There's this nice picture and tantalizing question in the Dropping Knowledge website. (your question.org)
"Can sports play a role in the development of poor nations?"
I believe it can. Many years back I found myself coaching and playing football with the poor kids in the slums of Tondo, Manila. This made me seriously ponder about their future: "are they just going to play football all the time; what's in this for them?"
Being good in the game, many of them got scholarships to pursue their studies in many universities who needed good footballers. Later on I saw others make a living by becoming professional football referees, while others became coaches and trainers. Football has certainly given them a good alternative to break the circle of poverty.
Football is but a drop in the bucket. I've seen others rise from poverty through other sports in my own backyard... I've seen it in other Don Bosco settings in many other countries, and I believe it's going to happen too here in Cambodia.
When I was a novice in this congregation, we used to tease jokingly (no offense intended) about other congregations too... like how it was a "sin" if the Franciscans and Augustinians missed their prayers, how it was a "sin" if the Dominicans missed their study period, and how it was a "sin" for us Salesians if we missed our daily scheduled games/sports. Now I begin to realize why Don Bosco emphasized on this for us.