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Daniel Kim
Professor Dietel-Mclaughlin
WR13300
3 November 2014
The Impact of Soccer on Brazil
The country of Brazil is much like America, the nation consists of many different
ethnicities including European, African, and even Japanese. However, unlike the United States
the single most important trait that unites these varied people together is their love for soccer.
Soccer is so important to the country that they have been dubbed the country of football
(soccer); they are the only country to have qualified for every World Cup and have won the
tournament a record five times. Indeed to Brazilians soccer transcends the mere definition of the
word sport, it crosses into all areas of Brazilian life and influences their political, economic and
cultural history.
To further this case this paper draws upon literature based on soccer and Brazil to
construct different arguments ranging from historical data to findings from research groups. The
edited work The Country of Football: Politics, Popular Culture & the Beautiful Game in Brazil
by Paulo Fontes and Bernardo Buarque de Hollanda introduces the origin of the Brazilian soccer
market in order to better explain revolutionary academic studies based on the correlation soccer
has with working class culture, the national identity, and political movements. In The Country of
Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil, Kittleson, an esteemed historian known as
the Brazilianist argues that the national pastime has cultivated Brazils national identity by
specifying Afro-Brazilians domination of the sport. In the interest of integrating a contemporary
topic, discussions based on the protests against the Brazilian World Cup are guided by the award

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winning sports journalist Dave Zirin in his book Brazils Dance with the Devil: The World Cup,
the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy. To further the variety of information present, the
edited work, The Brazil Book of Football by Stratton Smith collects various anecdotes and
interviews from famous Brazilian players to summarize their experiences of competing for
Brazil.
The inception of soccer has impacted the countrys economic, sociological, and political
status from the very beginning. Charles William Miller, the central figure in the popularization of
the sport, introduced the formal rules of the sport and established many of the first clubs in
Brazil. After the induction of the sport to various high schools, Brazils interest in soccer grew
rapidly. While at first the sport was only played by the elite of society, factories started forming
teams for their blue-collar workers. According to Antunes The encouragement of football by a
company amongst its workers would be a means to tame the workforce and instill in them a
sense of group identity in support of the firm. (26) Much like national universities in America,
the promotion of the sports team and companies created pride amongst the workers and in
extension the company. Moreover Jackson states football in Brazil offered honorable work to
workers who had previously existed on the margins of urban society (44). The companys top
players were often promoted much faster and given much lighter work, and thus the career of a
worker-footballer was born. Eventually, however players could become professional athletes
and had the possibility to earn large amounts of income. Many of Brazils greats such as
Garrincha, the winner of two World Cups, started off as factory players. In his autobiography he
explains the economic benefits of becoming a professional When I had just signed with
Botafogo, (Garrinchas club) they paid me only the equivalent of a flat 10 a month. It was more
than I made at the factory anyway. After I won the World Cup Botafogo paid me 210 a month

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and a signing-on fee of 3,000. (Garrincha 9) Although most players did not achieve financial
security through becoming a professional, the popularization of the sport brought new symbolic
and socioeconomic meanings in which social mobility became possible.
The development of company teams not only improved the workers economic status but
also the owners resources. The success of the companys soccer team would promote and sell
the companys products. As the bourgeoisie promoted the sport, the anarchists argued that it
would weaken the fight for better working conditions. Football, especially in factory clubs,
would divide the working class, putting workers into confrontation with each other in defense of
certain company names. (Antunes 28) In contrast communist activists understood that soccers
rise in popularity was irreversible and thus argued to promote union organized soccer clubs.
Through the rise of popularity, soccer has directly impacted the political parties of the common
people in Brazil by influencing both the communists and anarchists to protest against the
characteristics the bourgeoisie had established on soccer.
Brazlianness was defined as the idea of a unified Brazilian identity, however none of the
other cultures were associated with this concept more than the Afro-Brazilians. Their superiority
in soccer has influenced Brazils national identity to mainly represent the poor and working
class. Even prominent figures across the media made explicit connections between AfroBrazilianness and national culture; exponents of these views were demanding that the nation rely
on the largely Afro-Brazilian povo (people or common folk) and its allegedly inherent abilities.
(Kittleson 3). Afro-Brazilian players such as Pele, Garrincha, and Didi lead the Brazilian team to
three World Cup titles and had a unique style of improvisation and creativity that defined the
Brazilian style of soccer (the beautiful game). The rise of great Afro-Brazilian players in the
1950s promoted the idea that miscegenation was the strength of Brazilian society (Jackson

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41). However in the early 1900s Afro-Brazilians were often shunned and excluded from other
communities because they had just recently been freed as slaves. They were not allowed to join
other soccer clubs and thus had to create their own. As Kittleson goes on to explain the forming
clubs thus became a way of demonstrating pride in Afro-Brazilian culture and a strategy for
improving the race. (24) It was not until Fried, a German-Afro-Brazilian, became the captain of
the Brazilian Team that racial injustice started to be frowned upon. Fried became a positive
symbol of racial integration (29) and his success in the regional tournaments in South America
allowed Brazilians to be more acceptable towards Afro-Brazilians. Much like the racial evolution
of basketball in the United States, the Brazilian inclusion of Africans saw them in a central role
towards the development of the sport. Soccer has allowed the Afro-Brazilians to alleviate the
sufferings caused by years of slavery and has allowed them to integrate themselves as a key part
of Brazilian national identity. Their hard work and dedication towards the sport has turned the
countrys prejudice against the African sub culture into reverence for its people and
accomplishments.
While previous influences of soccer on Brazil were positive, globalization and the
introduction of the World Cup in 1950 has produced many debates. Brazils hosting of the 1950
World Cup was symbolized by the construction of the iconic Maracana stadium. The
Maracanas task would be to serve as the most effective testament to the nations claim of being
a great power-and thus a grandiose title as the worlds greatest stadium. (Hollanda 173) The
stadium served to bridge together the social classes of the working class and the elite by being
placed in between the two, however stadiums architectural design displayed a different ideal.
The seats constructed within the arena placed the poor in standing areas far away from the pitch
and the rich into honor boxes close to the action. Through the gentrified construction of the

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Maracana, soccer came to mean more than the national identity, but signifies how globalization
was creating more capitalistic ideals. However Gaffney states that most notably, the
construction of the stadium came to signify the Brazils loss to Uruguay in the final, otherwise
known as the Maracanazo. (190) Since the country has had little misfortune, this loss serves as
one of the greatest national traumas the country has faced.
While the initial problems caused by the 1950 World Cup may seem trivial, the current
World Cup has created many negative effects. Corruption is rampant in modern Brazil, as
politicians have overturned previous enacted laws in lieu of the World Cup to replace the ghetto
of in Rio de Janeiro with new real estate. In addition billions of dollars were spent on the
construction of the stadiums as the limit on public spending was annulled for the upcoming
sporting events. The favela (ghetto) of Rio represents 22% of the cities population, yet the
government is willing to take away from the working class people through the reasoning of a
soccer tournament. Zirin, has visited Brazil to view the effects the World Cup is having on the
ghetto. Zirin goes on to illustrate that Hundreds of families found themselves living on the
rubble of their former homes with nowhere to go after a merciless round of demolitions by
Brazilian authorities. Its a ghost town. (179) The government claims that by doing so they are
giving the citizens dignity, yet this is a basic violation of human rights. The many favelas
facing eviction are treated differently, some are relocated, others are compensated, while some
receive nothing. The countrys goals of hosting the world cup are an effort to rebrand the
dangerous city known for crime and drugs to a tourist site of global attractions. Brazil taints the
countrys image of national identity by using the excuse of soccer to alienate the working class.
Gaffney argues Ironically, it is the cultural weight of football as created and sustained by o

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povo, the people, that has made possible its salability in the global marketplace (206) but
globalization and greed has blinded the over entitled Brazilian government.
However the majority of the country is in opposition to these acts of inhumanity. The
streets of Brazil erupted in 2013 as a million people took to the streets. Everywhere a publicly
funded stadium grew from the ground, it became a focal point for protest. (Zirin 205)
Thousands of people marched into the Maracana stadium and police gassed and beat the
protestors. Reporters on the street were shot by rubber bullets. These protests caused a collision
between soccer and the people of Brazil. Protestors even stampeded in front of a hotel the
Brazilian National Team were staying. Previously the pride of their country, the national team
was exploited for their involuntary inclusion in Brazils state of affairs. The World Cup was a
tool of neoliberal plunder. (Zirin 211) Neoliberalism is essentially the reallocation of wealth
from the public into private owners. To establish these policies countries have used the Olympics
and the World Cup for the last thirty years. These world-sporting events trick citizens of the host
countries to consent to these goals. The citizens initially feel proud to host the games until the
marauders of the free market descend from its hollowed-out stomach and start taking their pound
of flesh. Conversely, the people of Brazil are historically demonstrating before the start of the
games. By demonstrating against the World Cup, Brazil is displaying their dream of a more
democratic and just nation. While the World Cup came at a terrible price, the impact it has had
on the people of Brazil can become positive. The people are learning about the unjust systems
the country has in place and the wide corruption rampant among the officials. These
demonstrations can be turned into a future-oriented movement to revolutionize the current
policies, which allow governments to make illegal changes to the law.

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The institution of soccer into the Brazilian way of life has altered the countrys history
profoundly. The sport gave the working class more opportunities and later served as a symbol to
escape from poverty. In addition soccer shaped the Brazilian national identity and established
Afro-Brazilians as an important part of their culture. However in present times the World Cup
has caused millions of Brazilians living in the ghetto to be unfairly evicted. It was used as a
means to fund the pockets of corrupt officials and shape a better image of the country. The
Brazilians used rhetoric in social protest by demonstrating near symbols such as the Maracana
and the Brazilian National Team. Whether for good or for evil the argument that soccer touches
the many facets of Brazilian life is indisputable.

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Works Cited

Antunes, Fatima. The Early Days of Football in Brazil: British Influence and Factory Clubs in
Sao Paulo. Fontes and Hollando 17-40.
Fontes, Paulo and Hollando, Bernardo, eds. The Country of Football: Politics, Popular Culture
& the Beautiful Game in Brazil. London: Hurst, 2014. Print.
Gaffney, Christopher. A World Cup for Whom? The Impact of the 2014 World Cup on
Brazilian Football Stadiums and Cultures. Fontes and Hollando 187-206.
Garrincha. A Love for Freedom. The Brazil Book of Football. Ed. Smith, Stratton. London:
Souvenir, 1963. 30-41. Print.
Hollanda, Bernardo. Public Power, the Nation and Stadium Policy in Brazil: The Construction
and Reconstruction of the Maracana Stadium for the World Cups of 1950 and 2014.
Fontes and Hollando 167-186.
Jackson, Gregory. Malandros, Honourable Workers and the professionalization of Brazilian
Football. Fontes and Hollando 41-66.
Kittleson, Roger Alan. The Country of Football: Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil.
Berkeley: U of California, 2014. Print.
Zirin, Dave. Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Struggle for
Democracy. Chicago: Haymarket, 2014. Print.

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