American football holds a national tournament in Brazil
10/09/2010BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – The country known for having the world’s best players with the ball at their feet has begun to invest in a new style of football: the American kind.
The Brazilian League of American Football (LBFA) was created to jumpstart the sport. It is comprised of teams that competed in the Touchdown Tournament last year, organized by the American Football Association of Brazil (AFAB).
The teams are split into two divisions and each squad plays 14 games.
The sport also has attracted the attention of clubs traditionally focused on soccer.
Corinthians and Fluminense, two sides that are constantly battling for first place at the top level of the Brazilian soccer league, also have become rivals in the LBFA, which began its inaugural season in August.
The two clubs have entered into a partnership with established American football teams and created the Fluminense Imperadores and the Corinthians Steamrollers.
“The major soccer clubs represent a strong and well-known force that can help reemphasize the value of this league to its partners,” says Orlando Eustáquio Ferreira Jr., LBFA’s president.
Audiences already have exceeded 1,000 for some games
The association of teams with traditional clubs helps, but it’s not the only reason for establishing the sport’s presence in the country.
“The 2010 LBFA season has received unprecedented coverage in specialized media, especially by sports channels Bandsports and ESPN and, because of this, the public is responding favorably,” Ferreira Jr. says. “We’ve had games with more than 1,000 spectators in the stadiums in the cities of Cuiabá, Foz do Iguaçu and Belo Horizonte.”
But American football still is small in the land of soccer.
The costs of organizing the LBFA are estimated to be around R$600,000 (US$348,000), which cover travel expenses, putting on matches and referees’ salaries.
LBA’s costs are roughly equal to the monthly salary for forward Fred, one of the star players on the league-leading Fluminense soccer team, according to website ESPN.com.br.
With the lack of strong sponsors, new teams struggle to obtain the necessary equipment for their players. The cost of properly equipping each player with a helmet, shoulder pads, thigh pads and cleats costs about RS$1,000 (US$581).
“The shoulder pads already are being made in Brazil, but we still have to import the helmets from the U.S.A. and the cost is quite high,” Ferreira Jr. says.
But partnerships with established soccer teams guarantee football teams have a place to practice.
“In the majority of the locations, the soccer fields are adapted by repainting them in accordance with the rules of American football,” Ferreira Jr. says.
Unfamiliarity with the game’s rules is another obstacle
After practicing boxing, jujitsu and judo, 21-year-old physical therapy student Victor Menossi Rodrigues is among the pioneers of American football in Brazil.
Last year, Rodrigues joined Minas Locomotiva, an American football club in Belo Horizonte, capital of the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais. He plays fullback, a position responsible for protecting the quarterback, blocking for the running back and on occasion, being counted on to run or catch the ball.
“I’ve always liked sports that involve fighting and hitting. I searched for some information about American football and got caught up in it,” says Rodrigues, who is about 1.75 m (5’9”) tall and weighs around 100 kilograms (220 pounds). “It’s a sport that I find more interesting than a lot of others I’ve tried because it involves strategy, strength and intelligence.”
Rodrigues’ preference for the sport always is debated when he is with friends. And the novelty of American football in Brazil also has granted him success with the ladies.
“There are parties where we go to in our uniforms, pretending that we’re North Americans, and we even try to speak English. The strategy already has worked and I’ve managed to go out with a few girls,” says Rodrigues, who still has to pay his own way as far as equipment and travel go with the Minas Locomotiva.
Besides coping with the lack of resources, the American football teams still have to overcome another barrier: unfamiliarity with the rules of the game in a country where the oval-shaped ball is not a household item.
“It’s not easy to understand American football,” Ferreira Jr. says. “The LBFA, through its teams, participates in various activities to introduce the sport to the general public, especially the children.”
Part of the efforts to help new generations understand the sport are being done by Cuiabá Arsenal, a team from Central western state Mato Grosso. The team has a school for children ages 8-13 in partnership with the Industrial Social Service (SESI). São Paulo Storm has a similar program with the support of the Commercial Social Service (SESC).