Sao Paulo, Brazil – 26 January 2010
A lesson in the local language in Sao Paulo (which is both a region as well as a city): a person from the state of Sao Paulo is called a Paulista, from the city of Sao Paulo – a Paulistano, and if you support Sao Paulo Futebol Club, you are a Sao Paulino. And it was a friend who is all three who eloquently said that in Brazil, “Everybody’s life is touched by football.”
To understand Why Sport Matters in this country, one has to get to know the football culture. To say that Brazil is football crazy is an understatement. In Sao Paulo, the business capital of Brazil and a huge sprawling metropolis approaching 20 million people, there are many players and teams to support. The big football clubs of Sao Paulo are Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo FC, and Santos (located on the coast about 80 km from the SP city). Santos is the club made famous by football legend Pele (who is regularly still in the news and is turning 70 this year). Corinthians — the club with the biggest fan base — has made the news recently by bringing back two big stars to Brazilian football, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.
Club football in Brazil has two main types of league competitions. From May-November, there is the national league organised by the CBF (national confederation). January-May is the “state” league, where teams play for the regional championship, and are organized by the state federations. These regional championships are quite important in Brazil, especially in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where there are many big clubs and the strongest rivalries. Sao Paulo’s FPF (Federação Paulista de Futebol) is one of the more important organisations in Brazilian football, and Why Sport Matters spent one day at the FPF offices in Sao Paulo to interview its president — Marco Polo Del Nero.
To actually take in some of the action, Why Sport Matters went to the Morumbi Stadium to see Sao Paulo FC win 3-0 against Rio Claro in the summer rains of Brazil. Thanks to Eduardo who works in International Relations for SPFC for inviting us to the match! The Morumbi has been selected as the Sao Paulo venue for the FIFA World Cup in 2014, and the possible site of the opening match. Check out this video we shot just outside the stadium (before the rain started!). Why Sport Matters also visited the newly established office of the local organising committee for the World Cup, where we saw the plans to refurbish and upgrade the stadium. Our friends Andre Megale and Rodrigo Garcia are already hard at work on it!
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Johannesburg, South Africa – 17 January 2010
So long Africa…hello Brazil!
The last weeks in Africa for Why Sport Matters were filled with nostalgia and a bit of adventure. It has been a great 3-month tour of Africa, but we are also excited to be heading to South America – with the first stop in Brazil (see the updated TRAVEL SCHEDULE). John can also take comfort that he will be returning to South Africa in 5 months for World Cup 2010 starting in June.
As is turns out, Zambia was the final country to visit in Africa. On New Year’s Day, Why Sport Matters headed from the capital of Lusaka to Livingstone, where the famous Victoria Falls is located. These majestic waterfalls (see photo) are one of the world’s natural wonders as huge slices in the earth surface allow enormous amounts of water from the Zambezi River to crash down into the gorge. The resulting effect of mist and noise made the locals call the place “Mosi-oa-tunya” – the smoke that thunders. Check out this video with our new friend Chiinga, a local nature guide, who gave us some insight into the area.
Victoria Falls is also an important destination point for extreme sports enthusiasts. The bridge that spans the gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe holds one of the world’s highest bungee-jumping platforms. Check out this video on our YOUTUBE page that shows the adrenaline rush of jumping off from 111 metres. Adventure junkies flock to the area to take part in ziplining, abseiling, whitewater rafting, game safaris in the nearby nature reserves, and more.
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Lusaka, Zambia – 1 January 2010
Happy New Year from Why Sport Matters!
It has been a summer, holiday season these past 2 weeks in South Africa, which has allowed Why Sport Matters to take in some warm weather sports. In Durban, we took in the beach culture along the Indian Ocean – the warm water a stark contrast to the chilly Atlantic over in Cape Town. This region is also known as the land of 1,000 hills with its rolling landscape and green countryside. The city skyline has been enhanced with the addition of the new stadium to be used to host the FIFA World Cup matches in June this year. The sleek design of the stadium also offers a unique elevator ride to the very top directly over the pitch (see photo), with sweeping views of the city, countryside and ocean. The hosting of next year’s FIFA World Cup will bring the spotlight of the world to this country, and the citizens are excited to show off its passion for great sport.
Back in Johannesburg, Why Sport Matters headed to cricket grounds in Pretoria to catch Day 4 of England’s first of four tests with South Africa. It was a brilliant summer day down here in the southern hemisphere, with the spectators making their own BBQ (braai to the locals) in the lawn while the players break for “tea” at midday to refuel for the afternoon! We took the occasion to speak with Jeremy Fredericks, a prominent cricket and rugby TV broadcaster, who gave Why Sport Matters more insight into this game and what it means to South African culture.
It was great to spend some time with old friend Clay Smith and his wife Isabelle, who have been in Joburg working on World Cup projects. On Christmas Eve, we spent the day on the golf course at the famous Wanderers sports club in Johannesburg. For the first time in his life, John actually had a caddie with him, as is the custom here. Check out the video with Chilli, the caddie who once carried the bag of Nick Price, but watched in vain as John played his usual erratic golf. In the clubhouse (and in the newspapers), the Tiger Woods scandal has been the talk of the town, as the whole world is following this story with keen interest. It will be interesting to see how the game will be affected by this human drama.
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