O Football Museum opens this Friday (17), in São Paulo, the temporary exhibition “¡Cancha brava!”, which celebrates South American football.
The exhibition, curated by Luiza Romão, Matias Pinto and Gisele de Paula, exalts the party and the different cultures of cheering, but also the tensions that had football as a backdrop or even as a protagonist.
In the center of the exhibition there is a space that simulates a grandstand, with speakers that reproduce chants from various fans. On the screens, the lyrics are displayed — in Spanish and Portuguese — and the original songs that served as inspiration for the songs.
This way, the visitor can know, for example, that one of the songs was created based on the melody of survivingby Argentine folklore singer Víctor Heredia.
In the last part of the tour, a mural painted by artists Marina Ceglie and Cleber TTC occupies an entire wall and illustrates all the features.
However, if on the one hand “Brave court!” brings all the color of South American football, there are other spaces that expose the continent’s conflicts.
One of the wings of the exhibition recalls the military coup that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende, in Chile, on September 11, 1973. An episode that had a direct impact on the so-called “ghost game” between Chile and the Soviet Union, valid for the 1974 World Cup playoff.
Although the Soviets refused to travel to South America due to the coup, forced the Chileans to take the field, even without an opponent.
After the opening whistle, the Andean team exchanged passes towards the attack until Chamaco Valdés shot into an empty goal and scored. In the absence of another team that could restart the match, the match was ended, and Chile.
A photo of the Chilean team lined up for the game against the Soviets is part of one of the exhibition’s installations. The visitor is invited to turn a crank, which ends up revealing, beneath the image of the Chilean team, a photo () of a soldier holding a rifle at the National Stadium, a place that served as a detention center during the regime.
This Thursday (16), during the opening of the exhibition for the press and guests, the disputes of South American football, past and present, as well as the disputes of life on the continent were present not only on the walls and screens of the museum.
“At a time when immigrants are being so attacked around the world”, said Matias Pinto, “this exhibition represents the ten countries affiliated to Conmebol, but also all the immigrants present here. Immigrating is a right”, concluded, emotionally, the curator, whose speech was made below a screen in honor of the writer Eduardo Galeano, who with his words exposed the historical violence of Latin America.
¡Cancha Brava! South American football in dispute
- Until April 5, 2026
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 9am to 6pm (entry permitted until 5pm).
- Tickets: R$24 (full) and R$12 (half)
- Free for children up to 7 years old
- Free for all on Tuesdays
- Find out more at: www.museudofutebol.org.br
