Football is the most popular sport in Brazil and a prominent part of the country's national identity. The Brazil national football team has won the FIFA World Cup five times, the most of any team, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Brazil and Germany are the only teams to succeed in qualifying for all the World Cups for which they entered the qualifiers; Brazil is the only team to participate in every World Cup competition ever held. Brazil has also won an Olympic gold medal, at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Copa do Nordeste, also known as Campeonato do Nordeste or Copa Nordeste is a Brazilian football competition among Northeastern region teams. It is sometimes informally referred to as Lampions League – in reference to the UEFA Champions League and bandit folk hero Lampião.
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, commonly referred to as the Brasileirão, and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Brazilian professional league for men's football clubs. At the top of the Brazilian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. In 2021, the competition was chosen by the IFFHS as the strongest national league in South America as well as the strongest in the world.
ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics; the 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Pan-American Games. High ratings and prestige in the segment have been marks of the channel; it also won the APCA award twice, in 1995 for "Best Sports Programming" and in 1998 for "Best Coverage of the 1998 FIFA World Cup".
The Brazilian Volleyball Super League is the top level Brazilian professional volleyball competition. It is organized by the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation. It shares the same name with the women's tournament, and are disputed simultaneously. The number of participating clubs varies every year. The champion team qualifies for the South American Championship. Vôlei Natal, who play at the 10,000-capacity Ginásio Nélio Dias, are the current champions.
Fernando Büttenbender Prass is a Brazilian football pundit and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
Walter Henrique da Silva, known simply as Walter, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Among the sports broadcasters in Brazil are the subscription channels ESPN, SporTV, BandSports and NSports; the pay-per-view channels Premiere FC, Combate and Nosso Futebol; and the subscription video streaming services Max, Star+, DAZN and Eleven Sports.
BandSports is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 2002 by Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação.
Renê dos Santos Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder.
Neuciano de Jesus Gusmão, commonly known as Cicinho, is a Bulgarian-Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Brasileiro Série A club Bahia. Born in Brazil, he plays for the Bulgaria national team.
João Pedro Maturano dos Santos, known as João Pedro, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Série A club Grêmio.
Danilo das Neves Pinheiro, known by his nickname Tchê Tchê, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Botafogo. Although usually employed as a central midfielder, he is an extremely versatile player who can play in multiple roles such as a right or left back, defensive midfielder or even as a winger.
Gustavo Henrique da Silva Sousa, known as Gustagol or simply Gustavo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a striker for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port.
Murilo Cerqueira Paim is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender or defensive midfielder for Brazilian club Palmeiras.
José Antonio dos Santos Júnior, known as Júnior Santos, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Botafogo.
Casimiro Miguel Vieira da Silva Ferreira, better known as Casimiro or Cazé, is a Brazilian journalist, presenter, sports commentator, digital influencer, YouTuber and streamer. In addition to making content for the internet on his Twitch and YouTube channels, he works on the TNT Sports Brazil channels, De Sola and EI Games, all on YouTube. He is named as one of the biggest streamers in Brazil.
