A football tournament brought together indigenous and rural women of the Colombian Northern region of Norte de Santander to promote their empowerment.

The tournament, held on 17 December, is part of a larger campaign of the regional government to promote community sports and the empowerment of ingenious peoples and women, in a place where the correlation between poverty, inequality and social conflict continue to hinder processes of inclusion.

William Villamizar Laguado, the region's governor, said: "This is proving to be a great a action, which recognises the power of sport in promoting the inclusion of ethnic minority groups".

Women from the municipalities of Labateca, Lourdes, Cúcuta, Santiago, Salazar, Tibú, Toledo, El Zulia and Villa del Rosario, attended the event, as well as kichuwas and u’aw indigenous peoples.

"This activity is great because we are being given the opportunity to play football, instead of all the tasks we usually have to do, it is nice to free our minds and enjoy this moment" said María Teresa Lizarazo, one of the participants.

The tournament is set to become an annual initiative to further impact the lives of rural and indigenous women in the region.