READ Fútbol Mundial to encourage non-fiction reading among Latino Kids.

The Mundial Group released READ Fútbol Mundial, a new kids magazine about soccer, in May to Miami-Dade County elementary and middle school students. Approximately 20,000 copies were requested by local teachers to distribute to their students under the premise of encouraging non-fiction reading.

In June JSM Consultants conducted focus groups with fourth and fifth grade Latinos students about READ’s magazine content. Key learning’s from the research indicate that the soccer angle motivated students to want to read the magazine and empowered them to get involved in sports. The research indicates reading makes the student “feel” smart, providing him/her with knowledge, which is powerful among peers. One fourth grade male student commented, “As I flipped through the magazine I was interested in all of the pages – it has a lot of different and interesting things to read and it has games!!! – I love to play games and now there is a magazine that has sports AND games – that’s cool!”
Felix Sención, who has independently funded READ Fútbol Mundial, was inspired to launch the magazine after receiving letters from kids whose parents read Fútbol Mundial magazine “Their letters indicated to me a real interest in the sport. That interest combined with my knowledge about the literacy challenges being faced by our Latino kids from pre-school to high school inspired me to invest my time and resources into this very important initiative.”

In the fall ’08, READ Fútbol Mundial will be distributed in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.