Tahiti Is Here

04/15/2014 - 09h23

São Raimundo's third goal, scored at 47 minutes into the second half, was celebrated in silence by the winger Maranhão, 32.

The player preferred not to follow Railson, the goal scorer. Exhausted, he threw himself on the turf of the stingy stadium Ribeirão, the only stadium in Roraima that hosts state matches.

Within a minute, at 8:20pm on Saturday, he would finish his long shift.

Maranhão had woken up at 4am to work around nine hours with an oven in a pottery located in Boa Vista before heading to the vice-leader concentration.

"I play because I love the sport. I know I will not get richer. Soccer here is only for lovers", said the winger as he left the field limping, with pain in his right leg, greeted by dozens of fans, almost all of them relatives or friends of the athletes.

With a monthly wage of US$ 270 as a player, Maranhão is one of the veterans of the championship promoted by Zeca Xaud, 69, the longest-serving president of a federation in the country.

In power for the last 27 years, the accountant commands the Federação Roraimense de Futebol (Soccer Federation in Roraima). Xaud, has been in charge for 11 uninterrupted years and gets around US$ 316,000 per year from CBF to manage the local soccer scene.

Last year, CBF officially distributed US$ 12 million to the federations.

In spite of managing what we could call an amateur soccer scene, Xaud tomorrow will be at FIFA headquarters next to the leaders of the country's main clubs for the election of Marco Polo Del Nero. His has the same vote as Corinthians or Flamengo.

Only 20 teams of the first division and the 27 presidents of the federations can participate in the election. Athletes and referees cannot vote.

This year, Xaud arranges a championship that brings together six clubs, with players who need to work double shifts to survive. The tournament ends next month. From then on, the clubs will be closed until January 2015.

"I am here so far because I am honest and friends with everyone. I turn little into a lot. That is why they always choose me", explains Xaud, about his long stay in the position.

On Saturday he did not go to the local tournament. He had already left to Rio. At the time, Rio Negro had a 2-0 victory over Náutico. In the next game, with what seemed to be a nightclub lighting, São Raimundo had a 3-1 victory over Atlético-RR.

During the match, the gates were kept opened, but it could not attract more than 400 fans. The interest is so small that no radio broadcasts the matches.

There were no doctors inside the field. Only an old ambulance was parked on the edge. The hot changing room has no chairs and the players can only use it to get changed.

Beer is usually forbidden in other stadiums across the country, but is allowed in Ribeirão.

SOCCER GYPSIES

Soccer is not the most organized thing, but I have faith that I will grow here", said the midfielder Diogo Santana, 25. He left Mato Grosso around a month ago to defend Atlético-RR.

In partnership with an entrepreneur from Minas Gerais, the team has other "gypsy" players. The majority of them have already played in other States and countries that are not so popular.

Since last month, about 20 players share a poorly ventilated house in Pitolândia, one of the most violent areas in the city.

"If concentration is enough to win a game, we are going to be champions", joked Igor B Love, 26, from Bahia, who shares a bathroom and a fridge (closed with a locker) with a dozen of others housemates. The monthly income is around US$ 316, but the first payment is already seven days delayed.

Having a payroll of US$ 11,284, the same of its opponents, Atlético-RR is the biggest winner among the teams with 20 victories.

Despite its tradition, the club started this year's tournament with nine players. The goalkeeper was moved to an attack position due to the difficulty in hiring players.

AMATEURISM

Xaud is seen by the fans as the main responsible for the amateurism. Even then, the main leaders prefer to avoid a public confrontation with the president. They fear being persecuted during the matches.

"We have conflicts, but he also helps us", said the president of São Raimundo, the police officer Sérgio Caranguejo, 52, who will get a degree in theology this year.

One week ago, he had to ask Xaud for "US$ 1128", after his team was defaulted in Georgetown, in the Guiana. The board of directors did not receive the US$ 10 thousand promised after playing against Slingerz.

Born in Rio Grande do Sul, Adroir Bassorici, 40, president of Náutico, the current champion, is hopeless. He said he will abandon the sport, in case he does not grasp the title for the second time.

Due to last year's victory, the club competed in Copa do Brasil (it was beaten by Ponte Preta reserves 4-1) and got from the tournament organizers around US$ 68,000 for its participation.

"There is no money here. In Copa das Confederações, everybody was surprised with Tahiti's amateurism. In fact, Tahiti is not so far from here. It is here", said Bassorici, from the empty stadium stands, while his team lost in the damaged soccer turf.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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