FOOTBALL AND RACISM: SOME REFLECTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

This writing unfolded from an experience referring to the theme of football carried out with a group of eighth grade students from a public school in the city of Guanambi/Bahia. It is intended to share some reflections regarding racism and the confrontations of black people throughout the history of this sport, therefore leveraging the debate about the need to combat racist manifestations and recognize the Brazilian cultural plurality. The classes had as a guiding basis the Cultural Perspective of Physical Education, proposed by Neira and Nunes (2008) and were developed from the practice of mapping, reframing, deepening and enlarging, as well as, the evaluation of the entire thematization process. Throughout these actions, in order to encourage the class to read critically in relation to football, the history of this corporal practice was problematized, emphasizing racial inequalities and racist conducts present in their fabric. The students had little knowledge of the racial inequalities that cross the history of the sport and evaluated the theme positively. The insertion of ethnic-racial issues in the Physical Education curriculum is analyzed as emerging, since the pedagogical work of this component can contribute significantly to the fight against inequalities that affect society.