Externally Funded Fellow Dr Vinícius Teixeira Pinto delivers a seminar on their research, fully titled 'Democracy on the pitch: an anthropological approach to the politics and activism of Brazilian football supporters.'

Brazilian football has undergone significant shifts in its gameplay and its politics in a few years: from its new stadiums, passing through social and urban change, until the recent laws that allowed the conversion of its football clubs into Public Limited Football Companies. Aside from the sporting angle, not least important were the political demonstrations that had football as a target or background - such as the 2014 FIFA WC protests, or the wearing of Brazilian National Team shirts by the far-right rallies, or lately the anti-fascist football fans' activism against ‘Bolsonarism’. Based on ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Southern Brazil during the Bolsonaro Government (2019-2023), this seminar revisits some of Brazil’s recent political events, offering an anthropological approach to the modalities of political participation and activism that emerged in sport and that, in certain cases, resonated beyond it, even inspiring the demand for democracy both on and off the football pitch.

Arrivals from 11.45am for a 12pm start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1pm