Amateur Working-Class Soccer

The term “Futebol de Várzea” (Floodplain Soccer) has become synonymous with amateur working-class soccer in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The multiple reasons for this connection relate to how soccer was appropriated by the city’s popular segments in various community “associations” of the várzeas...

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Main Author: Diana Mendes Machado da Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Festive Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/266
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author Diana Mendes Machado da Silva
author_facet Diana Mendes Machado da Silva
author_sort Diana Mendes Machado da Silva
collection DOAJ
description The term “Futebol de Várzea” (Floodplain Soccer) has become synonymous with amateur working-class soccer in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The multiple reasons for this connection relate to how soccer was appropriated by the city’s popular segments in various community “associations” of the várzeas (floodplains). The associative form grew historically from a combination of experiences of elite colleges, unions, and factory workers in England, and popular associativism was the basis for the organization of sport in such places as the suburbs of São Paulo. While tournaments and championships organized competitions in the context of European expansionism, community sports festivities and festivals introduced and incorporated soccer into the city’s suburban and várzea daily life. Thus, through immigrant associations for mutual aid, religious, and Black brotherhoods, among other institutions, Várzea Soccer figured as a kind of archive of non-hegemonic practices of playful, festive, and sports interaction with the (sub)urban space. These practices, which left deep marks, are still present in how sport is experienced in the country.
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spelling doaj-art-5144dddf83484d42a3fb5bc39daff4ce2025-08-20T03:07:35ZengH-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences OnlineJournal of Festive Studies2641-99392024-12-016304510.33823/jfs.2024.6.1.266239Amateur Working-Class SoccerDiana Mendes Machado da Silva0The New SchoolThe term “Futebol de Várzea” (Floodplain Soccer) has become synonymous with amateur working-class soccer in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The multiple reasons for this connection relate to how soccer was appropriated by the city’s popular segments in various community “associations” of the várzeas (floodplains). The associative form grew historically from a combination of experiences of elite colleges, unions, and factory workers in England, and popular associativism was the basis for the organization of sport in such places as the suburbs of São Paulo. While tournaments and championships organized competitions in the context of European expansionism, community sports festivities and festivals introduced and incorporated soccer into the city’s suburban and várzea daily life. Thus, through immigrant associations for mutual aid, religious, and Black brotherhoods, among other institutions, Várzea Soccer figured as a kind of archive of non-hegemonic practices of playful, festive, and sports interaction with the (sub)urban space. These practices, which left deep marks, are still present in how sport is experienced in the country.https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/266associativismfestivitiesamateur soccerbrazilfloodplain soccer
spellingShingle Diana Mendes Machado da Silva
Amateur Working-Class Soccer
Journal of Festive Studies
associativism
festivities
amateur soccer
brazil
floodplain soccer
title Amateur Working-Class Soccer
title_full Amateur Working-Class Soccer
title_fullStr Amateur Working-Class Soccer
title_full_unstemmed Amateur Working-Class Soccer
title_short Amateur Working-Class Soccer
title_sort amateur working class soccer
topic associativism
festivities
amateur soccer
brazil
floodplain soccer
url https://journals.h-net.org/jfs/article/view/266
work_keys_str_mv AT dianamendesmachadodasilva amateurworkingclasssoccer