COSTA RICA NEWS – Jorge Luis Pinto, the coach of Costa Rica’s national football (soccer) team is undoubtedly a very important person in Costa Rica right now.
The Colombian has taken the Ticos to the World Cup in Brazil, led the team to an unbeaten three game streak and a contender in the finals.
For that, legislator Rafael Ortiz is proposing granting Pinto “honorary citizenship“, saying “he has written the most glorious page of national sport.”
“Pinto is almost a Costa Rican, a person who sings the national anthem, dedicating himself to the people of Costa Rica,” said Ortiz, legislator of the Partido Unidad Socialcristiana (PUSC).
The legislator said he will be presenting his proposal to the various legislative factions for support, and that in his initial conversations with his colleagues have been positive.
Ortiz says the possibility of declaring a person a “honorary citizen” is established in law, in Article 121, paragraph 16 of the country’s Constitution, that states that the distinction is reserved for anyone who has given “outstanding service” to the Republic.
Coaching a futbol team (for a salary, I assume) is considered “outstanding service to the Republic? I know that we take our futbol seriously here, but isn’t that a bit of a stretch?