Wani ƙaramin tsibiri a Karibiyan da ya fi ƙanƙanta da Isle of Man, tare da yawan jama'a 158,000 kawai, yana shirye-shirye don rubuta tarihin ƙwallon ƙafa. Curacao za zama ƙaramar ƙasa da ta taɓa shiga FIFA World Cup 2026, ta fuskar girma da yawan jama'a — kuma dukkan tsibirin yana ruri da farin ciki.

"Yana kawo farin ciki da alfahari ga tsibirin da ba za ka iya bayyanawa ba. Duk tsibirin yana juyowa zuwa shuɗi," in ji Gilbert Martina, shugaban Curacao Football Federation (FFK).

Tawaga da aka gina daga diaspora

Dan wasa ɗaya kawai a rukunin Curacao — Tahith Chong — an haife shi a tsibirin. Sauran 'yan wasa 25 dukkansu an haife su a Netherlands ɗin ƙasa, wanda ke nuna dabarar da aka yi da gangan da ta fara lokacin da FFK suka fara daukar ƙwararrun masu horarwa 'yan Holandan, farawa da Patrick Kluivert a 2015.

Dan wasan tsaron raga na Miami FC Eloy Room, mai shekara 37, ya kasance daga cikin farkon 'yan wasan da aka haife su Netherlands da suka zaɓi buga wa Curacao waccan shekarar. Kyaftin Leandro Bacuna, tsohon dan wasan tsakiya na Aston Villa da Cardiff, ya bi a 2016.

"Mun yi wani abu mai kyau sosai don Curacao," in ji Bacuna. "Na fara wannan tafiya shekaru 10 da suka wuce kuma ina so in yi wa mutanen Curacao alfahari. Manaja yana ci gaba da cewa ba mu gama ba. Muna so mu nuna wa mutane cewa ko da yake muna da ƙaramin girma, muna da babban zuciya."

Ɗan'uwansa Juninho Bacuna — wanda ya buga wa Huddersfield, Rangers, da Birmingham — ya shiga tawagar ƙasa a 2019. "Ita ce wata irin abu da kullum muka so," in ji matashi mai shekara 28. "Yara muna, muna mafarkin buga wasa tare a cikin tawaga ɗaya a filin wasa ɗaya."

'Yan wasa 18 a cikin rukunin sun wakilci Netherlands a matakan matasa, inda Riechedly Bazoer da Joshua Brenet suka samu kiran tawagar babba. 'Yan wasa 15 na rukunin na yanzu sun fara buga wa Curacao tun 2023, yana nuna yadda wannan ƙungiya ta haɗu cikin sauri.

Tasirin Advocaat

Shugaban FFK Martina ya sanya nasarar su galibi ga zuwan mai horar da tsoho na Holandan Dick Advocaat a 2024. Da shekara 78, Advocaat za ya zama tsofin koci a tarihin FIFA World Cup lokacin da Curacao suka fuskanci Germany a Rukunin E a ranar Lahadi.

"Mai horar da inganci kamar Dick Advocaat yana samar da tasiri mai yaduwa, yana samar da imani," in ji Martina. "Ya shirya tunanin da kuma yanayin da tawagar dole ta koyi bugawa don samun sakamako maimakon bugawa don nishaɗi kawai."

Curacao ba su sha kashi ba a duk wasannin cancantar — suna da nasara bakwai da canjaras uku — ko da yake Advocaat ya rasa wasan da ya tabbatar da cancantar, sifiri-sifiri da Jamaica, saboda dalilai na iyali. Mataimakinsa Dean Gorre, tsohon ɗan wasan Huddersfield, Barnsley, da Blackpool, ya karɓi ragamar jagoranci a waccan gasar. ɗansa Kenji Gorre, tsohon ɗan wasan gefen Swansea wanda yanzu yana cikin rukuni, yana filin wasa dare waccan.

Advocaat ya yi murabus a watan Fabrairu don ya kula da 'yarsa mai rashin lafiya, kuma Fred Rutten ya maye gurbinsa. Amma bayan da aka sha kashi sau biyu a watan Maris da an ruwaito matsin lamba daga 'yan wasa da masu daukar nauyi, Advocaat ya dawo — kuma Curacao sun bi bayan asarar 4-1 da Scotland da nasara 4-0 akan makwabtansu Aruba a wasannin shiri.

Ba mai cin gashin kai, amma mai cike da alfahari

Curacao suna cikin Masarautar Netherlands — ba ƙasa mai cikakken ikon cin gashin kai ba — wanda ya sa su zama ɗaya daga cikin ƙasashe shida na da ba su da cin gashin kai da suka taɓa cancanta zuwa Kofin Duniya, tare da England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, da Dutch East Indies waɗanda suka cancanta a 1938. Dukan 'yan ƙasar Curacao suna da fasfo na Holandan, kuma tsibirin bai kafa tarayyar ƙwallon ƙafa ta kai ba sai a 2010, bayan rushe Netherlands Antilles.

Boudino de Jong, haɗin gwiwar kafa Profound, abokin haɗin gwiwa na dijital na FFK, ya ce tushen Holandan na rukuni bai haifar da damuwa a tsibirin ba. "Mun saba sosai da diasporanmu ma suna zaune wajen tsibirin. Koda ɗan wasan da ba a haife shi nan ba yana jin alaƙar da ta wuce gona da iri kuma yana gane kansa a matsayin Curacaoan."

Ana tsammanin dubban magoya bayan Blue Wave za su tafi Houston don farkon bayyanar Curacao a FIFA World Cup 2026 da Germany, tare da jirage na haya da aka shirya daga tsibirin a wannan rana. Kyaftin Bacuna ya taƙaita yanayin zuci: "Mutane kullum suna ganinmu muna yin kishi da rawa. Muna tare dukkanmu. Amma nan da nan alkalin wasa ya busa sarewa muna da abu ɗaya kawai a zuciyarmu — samun sakamako."