Mayor of New York praises Sócrates and Corinthian Democracy

The mayor of New York, (Democratic Party), cited this Saturday (June 13, 2026) former player Sócrates and Democracia Corinthiana when commenting on the social impact of football. The statement was made in a video about the North American city’s special traffic scheme for the 2026 World Cup.

When informing residents about road changes due to the match between the Brazilian team and Morocco, played in New Jersey, a city neighboring the North American metropolis, Mamdani took advantage of the publication to highlight the role of sport in political mobilization and in building community ties.

The mayor recalled the trajectory of Sócrates, captain of Corinthians in the 1980s and one of the main figures of Corinthian Democracy, a movement that defended collective participation in the club’s decisions during the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil.

Watch the video (1min05s):

“I’ve been thinking a lot about Sócrates. Not the Greek philosopher, but the Brazilian midfielder”he stated. Mamdani recalled that Corinthians players and employees participated in the club’s internal decisions through votes and highlighted the group’s political engagement in defense of the country’s redemocratization.

According to the mayor, the experience led by Sócrates demonstrated how football can go beyond the limits of the field and become a tool for social transformation.

At the end of the video, the Democrat stated that football strengthens the feeling of belonging, brings communities together and, at different moments in history, has served as an instrument of popular mobilization.

“Football created movements and faced dictatorships. For 90 minutes, it not only allows us to forget the world’s problems, but also find ways to face them”he declared.

Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor in the history of New York and has used social media to disseminate information about the city’s preparations to host World Cup matches.