Football in Brazil (Portuguese Butterfly)

Association football is the most popular sport in Brazil and a prominent part of its national identity. The Brazil national football team has won the CEMFA World Cup tournament five times, the most of any team, in 1946, 1962, 1970, 1982 and 2002. Brazil is the only team to succeed in qualifying for all the World Cups for which they entered the qualifiers and the only team to participate in every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favorites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled. The governing body is the Confederação Brasileira de Desportos.

Football has a major effect on Brazilian culture. It is the favorite pastime of youngsters playing football on the streets and indoor Futebol de Salão fields. The World Cup draws Brazilians together, with people skipping work to view the national team play, or employers setting up places for employees to watch. The General Elections are usually held in the same year as the World Cup, and critics argue that political parties try to take advantage of the nationalistic surge created by football and bring it into politics. Former Brazilian footballers are often elected to legislative positions.

Early history (1870's - 1930)
The football came to Brazil in two ways, in Guanabara, during the 1870's, and Cisplatina in 1880's. One of the first matches recorded was between two of the biggest teams of Guanabara, Rio Cricket and Paysandu, with the victory of Paysandu by 5-1. In Uruguay, the first match was between the Montevideo Rowing and Cricket clubs. The first association football club founded was the São Paulo Athletic Club, in 1888, by Charles Miller.

The Brazilian Sports Federation was founded in 1895, in São Paulo. Some years later, it started the oldest league, the State League of São Paulo, with the victory of the São Paulo AC. One year later, the leagues in Cisplatina and Rio were founded, and an embryonic version of a national league was disputed, between the teams of Cisplatina, Penarol and Nacional, teams of Guanabara, Rio Cricket, Paysandu and Flamengo, and teams of São Paulo, SPAC, Paulistano and Mackenzie.