Cuba kicks off World Cup initiative

Bonora, who chose a career in soccer over being a professional chess player, also noted that there's no money for Cuban club teams to fly elsewhere to play opponents in games that would help improve their skills.

"These are the things that are limiting us," said Bonora, adding that Cubans have been forced to become incredibly resourceful to create things similar to plastic cones and other equipment used in practice.

The situation has prompted well-known Cuban soccer players to leave during regional tournaments, which has made it even harder to build a national team as talent drains from an island that FIFA currently ranks 167th out of 211 countries. Many have joined teams in the United States in the past two decades, including midfielders Osvaldo Alonso with Atlanta United FC and Maikel Chang with Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer.