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SI Longform: A Place in the Game


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Sports Illustrated: A Place in the Game

A Brazilian tribe fights for a place in the beautiful game

 

 

In the 1960s a group of white Brazilians discovered arrows on a beach in the state of Para and tracked them to their tribethat tribe was home to Zeca, then a boy. The arrival of those white Brazilians and ensuing culture shock led to an exchange of knowledge, a tuberculosis outbreak, the death of Zecas father, and then relocation. It also brought soccer to the natives.

 

...

 

But sometimes it doesnt matter how good a player is. Aru Sompre, the best footballer to be born in the tribe, was coveted by at least one coach in São Paulo, the largest metropolis in Brazil and a powerhouse soccer city with a professional four-way rivalry. When Aru tried out for a regional team, one coach told him not to identify himself as indigenous on his application. If he did, he was told, the clubs president wouldnt accept him.

 

The members of Zecas tribe, Gavião Kyikatejê (pronounced Gah-vay-oh Kee-kah-teh-jay), werent surprised to hear this. For decades theyve heard a refrain of slurs from non-indigenous Brazilians, including at amateur soccer matches.

 

Go back to the forest!

 

Go play with your arrows!

A really interesting piece about a soccer-playing tribe in Brazil whose own soccer team was recently elevated to the premiere league, how soccer is just as big a part of their consciousness as the rest of the country even as they maintain their own customs, and the discrimination and even downright hostility they face from non-indigenous Brazilians.

 

Plus, these online longforms of SI are really cool to scroll through and read. Very neatly done.

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