Cuenca Just Hosted Latin America's First-Ever Robot Soccer Tournament — And It Was a Blast
Cuenca Expat Staff
Cuenca just made history in the nerdiest — and coolest — way possible.
On May 8, the city hosted the first-ever Latino Robot Cup, a robot soccer tournament organized by the Unidad Educativa Particular Latinoamericano. We're talking 62 teams, 124 robots, and over 160 students, teachers, and parents packed into 8 Robofut courts spread across five local institutions.
Who Won?
The tournament featured three competition tiers:
| Category | Champion | School/Club |
|---|---|---|
| Máster | Brasil 2 | Universidad Católica de Cuenca |
| Profesional | Francia | Club de Robótica Quantum Bots |
| Amateur | Japón | Unidad Educativa Particular Latinoamericano |
And the top scorer? Tayra Astudillo from the host school, whose robot racked up an incredible 39 goals across the tournament.
More Than Just Robots
This wasn't just a tech showcase. Five local institutions pooled resources to make it happen — the Universidad Católica de Cuenca donated three courts, and schools including UE Jardín del Azuay de Gualaceo, UE Borja, and UE Carlos Crespi each contributed a court.
As rectora María Lorena Guerrero put it: "This event represents effort and dedication of many who believe in technology's power to transform education."
Special recognition went to engineers Fabián Pesantez (UE Técnico Salesiano) and Juan Bermeo (UE Kennedy) for their organizational efforts.
Why Expats Should Care
If you've got kids in local schools — or you're just curious about the education scene here — this is a great sign. Cuenca is building real STEM infrastructure, and events like this put local students on a regional stage. The fact that this was the first edition means it's only growing from here.
Source: El Mercurio
