Football is not only the most popular sport in Brazil; it is a defining feature of our nation. While sports like volleyball, basketball or Formula 1 do touch Brazilian hearts, football is a very piece of ourselves and of our national identity. Almost everyone in Brazil supports a local team from a very early age. Youngsters play football on the streets and in improvised fields. Children are introduced to the very concepts of countries and nationalities through the World Cup matches, flags and team stickers. Virtually every Brazilian boy (and a growing number of girls) dreams about becoming a football player one day. It should come as no surprise that over 10,000 Brazilians play professionally all over the world.
Brazil is the only country to have won the World Cup five times – 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 – and the only one to participate in all the editions. In Brazil, everyone stops to watch the national team play. In pubs, restaurants, shops and open spaces, big screens and small TVs are all tuned in to the World Cup. Russia’s edition will not be any different. In Brazil by now, the people, the houses, the streets, the cars…, everything is adorned in the green and yellow colours of the Brazilian flag.