Futebol e etnicidade: análise sobre a questão étnica na fundação do Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense (1903-1906) e do Esporte Clube Juventude (1913-1916)

Abstract

Nowadays known as a popular sport, soccer is both a game, leisure, entretainment and a place where political, economic and social disputes occur. Englishsport or football appears in Rio Grande do Sul in the historical context of the beginning of the 20th century, in which associative clubs are consolidating. This is the setting for the formation of the first football clubs in the state and the presence of immigrants in their foundations is a key element. From this fact, the ethnic attribution derives from the origins of football clubs, as in the case of Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, attributed to german origin, and Esporte Clube Juventude, to Italian origin. In this research, we intend to understand which elements, besides the last name of the partners, can atribute an ethnicity. For this purpose, we opted for the chronological cut of the first three years of the two associations – that is, from 1903 to 1906 for Grêmio and from 1913 to 1916 for Juventude – in order to understand the ethnic matter at the beginning of their sport and social activies. We used the analysis of the institutional minutes of both institutions and reports from the newspapers A Federação, Cittá di Caxias and O Brazil. After this survey, we tried to draw parallels and/or identify differences between the two clubs in an attempt to understand whether this ethnicity was an idea expressed by the clubs and/or their members or if it was imputed to them. Through the lens of Cultural History, we observed a new way of analyzing the history of football, understanding this theme as a means of understanding the social dynamics that is reflected in the institutions.