Some 4,500 students and 500 teachers have benefited from an app created by the Vini Jr Institute, founded by Real Madrid athlete Vinicius Junior to improve public education in disadvantaged communities (Daniel Ramalho)

At a primary school in football-mad Brazil, pupils are spurred to academic greatness in classrooms resembling soccer pitches -- with a virtual avatar inspired by star forward Vinicius Junior cheering on every correct answer.

Perched on football-patterned cushions on classroom floors of artificial grass, they learn on tablets and smartphones using an app created by the Vini Jr Institute, started by the Real Madrid athlete to improve public education in disadvantaged communities.

"I learn better when I use the app, it's easier, it looks like a game," 11-year-old Ana Clara da Silva told AFP in Sao Goncalo, Vinicius's birthplace on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Da Silva attends the Visconde de Sepetiba municipal school, one of ten in four Brazilian states to have received educational aid from the institute.

Some 4,500 students and 500 teachers have benefited from the project, launched in 2021. By the end of this year, it hopes to have reached 30 schools.