January & February Favourites
✨ Proof of (abundant) life
Previously on The Good Football
The Good Stuff - Vol VII
November Favourites
Pardon my absence, I was home. And then I was homesick — at home. Things can get very confusing inside the head and heart of an immigrant.
I was back in Brazil after a long time, and being home stirred so many things in me, and the rippling still goes on. As I process and let myself be affected by everything that happened there, it’s been challenging to organise my thoughts and ideas about what’s going on in the (football) world. Some things feel too big, others ridiculously small. In general, a lot of them got me feeling like this:
I do have thoughts I want to share with you once I can better articulate them, and hopefully, I can get back into a more consistent rhythm sooner than later. We also have about three months to get excited about the World Cup — I, for one, am failing miserably. More to come about that.
While my favourite things from these past months had little to nothing to do with football, here’s a hand-picked list of the ones that do. Usually, the full list of the monthly favourites goes to paid subscribers only, but this time, I thought I could try to compensate for the lack of content by making it available to everyone, and adding the good links at the end too.
Home games
While in Curitiba, I went to every single home game I could. Lucky for me, all Brazilian leagues started earlier this year because of the World Cup, and I was actually able to attend quite a few games. And my hot take is that football was made to be experienced like this. You and your home team, and your mom & dad and your friends, where you know the lyrics to all the silly chants with popcorn in one hand and a beer in the other.
Living and working in football in Europe has allowed me to go to stadiums and watch games that are the stuff of dreams — and I’m thankful for that every day. I even found myself a “local team” in Barça Femení. But it turns out that there is really no place like home.
Meeting Fundação Clube Athletico Paranaense
Continuing on the topic of Clube Athletico Paranaense, I had the privilege to connect with old and new friends who work at the club, and they generously introduced me to the Foundation and its work. I knew a bit about them, but was so happy to learn about the great initiatives, big plans for the future, and the awesome people leading the efforts. Oh, how good it is to find The Good Football in your team and feel validated in the slightly irrational love you feel for it.
One of the best things I learned about was the multisensory room they opened last year - a place where neurodivergent fans can have a better experience at the stadium:
Arsenal x Corinthians
Following the first FIFA Women's Champions Cup was a fun ride. Like most Brazilians, I was rooting for the Brabas, Corinthians’ women’s team, and they did not disappoint us. It was so exciting to watch as they gave Arsenal a real hard time beating them and snatching another cup. The best part of the whole thing was surely watching the London kids in the stands mimicking the famous Corinthians’ fans signature celebration poropopó.
Long live (Brazilian) women’s football!
The work I don't always talk about
Maybe it’s because of all the stirred-up emotions, but these past couple of months I’ve been especially moved by the impact of my clients’ work — and incredibly thankful to play a part in it.
I’ve had moments in meetings, or simply taking in the range and scope of what they do, thinking about the people behind each effort and decision that are ultimately helping change lives, especially the youngest ones, through sport.
One experience in particular almost made me tear up at a very inappropriate time. We were shooting an activity with young participants (and a special guest 👀) for an upcoming campaign, and part of it involved talking about dreams. I sat there listening to these kids share what they dream of, and somewhere in between I started thinking about my own — realising I hadn’t really done that in a while. It hit me that that very moment was something I had once dreamed of, and worked hard to get to. Being able to work at the intersection of the things I love and believe in is a quiet kind of privilege, and I don’t take it lightly.
If you want to see some of this work in the world, check out what adidas Foundation and Fútbol Más España, are doing. There's more coming from both of them soon.
CE Europa x Top Manta jersey
When your friend sends you a message asking if you want to go support a local women’s team, you say yes. And so we went. It happened to be the day CE Europa was promoting their new special edition t-shirt in partnership with Top Manta, a local social and charitable clothing brand. They are beautiful, high-quality, and ethically made, and you can buy yours here.
Sun, friends, football, and a chic antiracist t-shirt? Sounds like the perfect Sunday to me.
THE GOOD LINKS
✍🏿 How not to talk about racism in football, a must-read on HTVB Sport by Hayley | Director @ HTVB.
💥 The new Bohemian FC women’s away kit has it all: looks, story, and impact (hopefully, Spotify is taking notes? 😬).
🤌 This very important video by the CF Badalona men’s team.
📚 This cool initiative by Chelsea defender Levy Colwill.
🤝 When Corinthians Women visited the non-league (and original!) Corinthian-Casuals.
🗣️ All the Wolves + João Gomes content on speech impediments that came out recently, including this conversation.
🖼️ These AFCON moments turned into art.
🎀 This, and then having mini versions for the Barbie dolls.
COMPLETELY OFFSIDE
Links that are not football-related but still worth sharing.
🍿 If you still haven’t watched The Secret Agent, you’re missing out.
🇧🇷 I recently got back to this Tiny Desk, and it’s all I’m listening to these days.
Capturing how I often feel when I head back home these days, and how football provides a way out of that when I need it. Lovely piece :)