Between shirts, slogans and causes

Their most significant expressions are present in shirts, shields, mascots, mottos, banners, flags, fan songs and performances, social causes and other codes intrinsically related to their communities.

The amateur football shirts are the greatest example of these identity marks, as they contain several of these elements in which the common peripheral identity is constructed, reaffirmed and disseminated.

Wearing a jersey dates back to the days when it was handmade, as seen in this 1948 photo of Santa Marina, a team of glass workers from the Água Branca neighborhood. Note that the fans were made up of women and children, something rare today, let alone back then.

The musical instruments of Nove de Julho bear the club's symbol and pitbull mascot. The shape and colors of the shield of this team from Casa Verde Alta were inspired by Santa Cruz, from Recife. The mascot was chosen for its notorious strength and loyalty.

The local teams represent their communities so much that some locals tattoo this relationship on their skin. This is the case of this Ajax fan, whose name is inspired by the Dutch namesake and whose crest is influenced by Santos. The "Lobão da Vila" Rica is one of the most traditional teams in São Paulo.

In Taboão da Serra, we have the Revolução club, founded in 2004. In addition to the emblematic name chosen by the residents of Jardim Record, they chose as a motto: "Those who are real know who are fake...", in a clear establishment of principles that value loyalty.

Just like in professional football, people in the grassroots also find inspiration in popular music and chants from organized fan groups. Only the expressions are adapted to make sense according to their signs. This is what we heard in the chant of Memo Memo, from Taboão da Serra.

Fan performances also make use of flares and smoke. Essential during matches, these marks are not restricted to the fields and are spread throughout the city with the colors of each club, especially when celebrating titles won.

This is the case of Pioneer fans, from Vila Guacuri, south of the capital, in a photo from the 1990s. As stated on the club's page: "We are not just another amateur team, but a family, the Pioneer family".

When representing their "slum", the name of the neighborhood is always next to that of the team, when it is not their own name. If they compete in championships against teams from their neighborhood, they defend their respective streets. If they play in other regions, they take their neighborhoods and areas of the city with them.

Predominantly practiced in the city's outskirts, but not exclusively there, amateur football is a fundamental part of the lives of the working classes, serving as a space for political mobilization, sociability and identity construction.

Here we see Karina dos Reis, from Centre Ville. This club was founded in Santo André in 1985, three years after a piece of land was occupied by workers. The women also organized themselves and formed a team. Each star on the shirt represents a year of the club's existence, which has resisted alongside the residents.

Through amateur football, feminist women also come together to fight for various causes. One of the teams that has stood out is Rosanegra Ação Direta e Futebol. As the name suggests, the team was created in 2014 as a result of the activism of its members.