Entre a esfera cultural e a esfera pública: comunidades online de torcedores e a politização do futebol

Abstract

This paper analyses how online communities of supporters, spaces typically intended for ordinary conversation and sociability, have become also loci for the politicisation of football. Three main arguments are used here to understand the contemporary emergence of political discussions and civic campaigns among supporters within such environments. Firstly, we discuss how forms of cultural engagement overlap with forms of political engagement. After, we explore the distinct migration phases of the issue, from the cultural sphere to the political, through the varied types of politicisation discussed in the literature. Lastly, we demonstrate the importance of digital media for the emergence of such processes in a context of centralisation of the broadcasting TV rights with a single company, Rede Globo, and a consequent hegemonic discourse of depoliticisation of the sport. Illustrate our discussion recent campaigns led by supporters such as #ForaRicardoTeixeira (Get Out Teixeira) and Maraca é Nosso (Maracanã is Ours).