MARICA, Brazil (AP) — When Sávio Conrado Mura left his Indigenous village of stilt houses located deep in the Amazon rainforest in early April, he departed with the hopes of representing his people as a professional soccer player and, maybe, one day playing for the Brazilian national team at the World Cup.
Mura’s first step toward earning the chance to don the famous yellow jersey once worn by Pelé and so many other Brazilian soccer greats took place on Sunday in an empty stadium in Rio de Janeiro with a team exclusively made up of Indigenous players.
The 21-year-old goalkeeper, who takes his last name from the Mura people of his birth, left his headdresses and bows behind to play for Originarios, a new soccer club in Rio’s fifth division that is mainly for players under the age of 23. He and 25 more youngsters from 13 native Brazilian groups have been getting ready by living and training in Marica, a city of 200,000 located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Rio.
“I am already a role model for my community,” Mura told The Associated Press after a training session on Thursday. “If me playing in a World Cup is God’s will, I will take it.”
His team won 2-0 despite coach Huberlan Silva not being able to field five of his starters for different reasons. Still, Originarios delivered a solid performance in front of a few dozen locals — none of its fans could travel to the Rua Bariri stadium in Rio.
Mura says he is the only person to ever leave his village, which is near the city of Autazes next to one of the smaller tributaries of the sprawling Amazon River, with the aim of becoming a professional soccer player. His journey from the depths of the rainforest to begin his pro career with Originarios took three days of travel by boat, car and airplane to reach Rio.
The Originarios team has gathered players from 10 Brazilian states, with 15 of them being chosen from about 400 videos of Indigenous players. Coach Wesley Terena, who has experience in amateur tournaments, also brought some trusted players with him. An Originarias team of female players is expected to start play in 2027, the same year Brazil hosts the Women’s World Cup.
Off the field, the players live together, sing songs in their native tongues and cover their bodies in war paint to keep traditions alive. But once soccer practice begins, they focus on drills, ball control and fitness.
On Sunday, their rival Barcelona, a Rio-based team named after the more famous Spanish club, was never a match for Originarios, which scored both of its goals in the first half.
The Originarios project that drew Mura thousands of miles (kilometers) from the remote Amazon waterways to the urban sprawl of Rio exemplifies how difficult it is for Indigenous peoples in Brazil to display their talents without leaving their communities behind. They do play tournaments back home, but all are amateur and not widely seen by most in the soccer-crazy South American country.
Source: Drudge Report
