Dendê Futebol Clube (English: Dendê Football Club) is a Brazilian sports club based in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia. Founded in 2017, it is dedicated to playing seven-a-side football (fut 7) and encourages the participation of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, while combating the stigma and LGBTphobia within men's football.[1][2] It is the first exclusively gay football club in Bahia.[1][3] The club is the organizer of the Northeast Gay Fut7 Cup, a seven-a-side football competition.[2]
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Stadium | Arena Bela Vista, Salvador, Bahia |
| League | Northeast Gay Fut7 Cup |
Elivelton Brandão was the vice president of the football club from February 2019 to 2020.[4][5] In November 2021, Wellington Santos, who was also a player of the team, took over as the vice president of the club.[1]
History
editDendê Futebol Clube was established as a result of discrimination, either overt or subtle, which has limited and made uncommon the presence of gay men in both professional and amateur football.[1][2] The club was therefore founded with the objective of providing a space where sport could be practiced free from the insult and prejudice against the community,[3] and for extending opportunities for the LGBTQIA+ people to participate in sport in northeastern Brazil.[2] The club has drawn attention towards homophobia and transphobia existing in football,[6] had emphasized the need for the sport to be inclusive, and increased the visibility of people who are often marginalized.[4] Similar clubs had already been established in other Brazilian cities, and there are leagues dedicated to competition among such teams.[3][7][8] Interactions through social media groups contributed to the creation of several Brazilian LGBT+ fut7 clubs, helped attract new members to the club, and helped increase media coverage of these organizations.[9]
In this scenario, the idea for forming a team consisting of gay men from Salvador came from Robson Alves, originally from São Paulo, and led to the creation of a WhatsApp group in 2017. However, it was only in November 2018 that active recruitment of homosexual, transgender, and bisexual men began in order to form the team.[6][7] At that time, the name "Dendê" was chosen for the club through a vote, and Arena Golaço in Lauro de Freitas, a municipality adjacent to Salvador, was selected as the club's first training venue.[7]
In 2019, with the support of the municipality of Lauro de Freitas, Dendê FC organized the first edition of the Northeast Gay Fut7 Cup, which took place on February 9 and 10, at Arena Golaço, in the neighborhood of Buraquinho.[3][4] In addition to organizing, the club also competed in the competition, alongside other clubs from the Federal District (Capital FC and Bravus FC) and the states of São Paulo (Bárbaros FC and Natus FC) and Sergipe (Araras FC).[3] Two months before the start of the competition, Laila, a former fut7 player, took charge of the training of the team.[6] Dendê finished the competition in fourth place after losing the semi-final to Bárbaros FC, who later lost to Bravus FC in the final for the Jean Wyllys Trophy.[4][6]
The second edition of the cup competition was scheduled to be held on 28 and 29 March 2020 at the Champion Multiarena, a sports complex located within Shopping Bela Vista in Salvador.[2] Eight to ten clubs were initially expected to be part of the competition, from the states of Amazonas, Federal District, Pará, and Sergipe, apart from Dendê, which would compete for the Marielle Franco Trophy.[10][11] However, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the postponement of the competition.[2] In response to the pandemic in Brazil, particularly the enforced physical-distancing measures, Dendê FC used the digital platform to maintain engagement and interaction among members.[9] It organized and took part in the "Big Brother Bicha Brasil" (2020), an online football championship coordinated through Instagram. It was played between ten teams and won by Cangayceiros Futebol Clube from Fortaleza.[9]
In November 2021, Dendê FC unveiled a new team uniform with the goal of "removing the stain" of homophobia from the sport.[1] The launch was also aimed at resuming the regular activities of the club, after the period of inactivity due to the pandemic, and in preparation for the Northeast Gay Fut7 Cup in May 2022, which would award a place to compete in the Brazilian LiGay Championship to be held at the end of 2022.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Suzart, Moysés (13 November 2021). "Primeiro clube gay da Bahia, Dendê lança uniforme para 'tirar mancha' de homofobia" [Bahia's first gay club, Dendê launches uniform to 'remove the stain' of homophobia]. Jornal Correio (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bantu, Geovan (24 March 2020). "Dendê Futebol Clube: o esporte contra o preconceito" [Dendê Football Club: sport against prejudice]. ANF – Agência de Notícias das Favelas (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 HMC, Pedro (7 February 2019). "Dendê Futebol Clube: conheça o 1º time de futebol gay de Salvador" [Dendê Football Club: meet Salvador's first gay football team]. Põe Na Roda (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 Santana, Laerte (11 February 2019). "Contra o preconceito, Lauro de Freitas sediou 1ª Copa Gay Nordeste" [Against prejudice, Lauro de Freitas hosted the 1st Northeast Gay Cup]. Prefeitura de Lauro de Freitas (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ↑ "Salvador sediará 2ª edição da Copa Gay do Nordeste em março" [Salvador will host the 2nd Northeast Gay Cup in March]. Jornal Correio (in Brazilian Portuguese). 11 February 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2021.[dead link]
- 1 2 3 4 Santana, Rafael (2 March 2019). "No ritmo do Dendê, 1ª Copa Gay da Bahia abre diálogo sobre homofobia no futebol" [To the rhythm of Dendê, the 1st Bahia Gay Cup opens dialogue about homophobia in football]. ge.globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 Coutinho, Genilson (2 February 2019). "1ª Equipe gay de futebol LGBTIQ+ de Salvador participa de copa em Lauro de Freitas" [Salvador's first LGBTIQ+ gay football team participates in tournament in Lauro de Freitas]. Dois Terços (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ↑ "Dendê Futebol Clube é a primeira equipe de futebol gay de Salvador" [Dendê Football Club is Salvador's first gay football team]. A Capa (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- 1 2 3 Dona, Ligia; Régis, Dóris. "Diversidade em campo: futebol LGBT+" [Diversity on the field: LGBT+ football]. Museu do Futebol (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ↑ Lopes, Milena (14 February 2020). "Segunda edição da Copa Gay do Nordeste acontece em Salvador" [Second edition of the Northeast Gay Cup takes place in Salvador]. Bahia Notícias (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ↑ Coutinho, Genilson (14 February 2020). "Salvador sedia a Copa Gay do Nordeste em março" [Salvador hosts the Northeast Gay Cup in March]. Dois Terços (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
