Bahia: Social issues this Brazilian football club is tackling is an inspiration to all

Esporte Clube Bahia may not be the most well-known team in Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, but the Salvador-based club are starting to grab headlines. When the Bahia players walked on to the pitch for their game against Ceara last month, fans in the stadium wondered what was different in the kit that the Bahia players wore on the day. On closer observation, the Bahia red and blue kit appeared to have splotches of black on the neck, armpits and hem region. 

While the black splotches may have looked odd at first, the significance of the spots would be understood after an explanation from Bahia President Guilherme Bellintani. Bellinatni pointed out that for the last month or so, tons of thick crude oil had been washing up on beaches in the northeast of Brazil. The Brazilian government themselves did little to provide answers to the questions surrounding the washed-up oil polluting the beaches and waters of Brazil. Bahia as a club, therefore, decided to draw attention to the oil spill by speaking up and making a statement on the pitch in front of the myriad spectators in the stadium.   

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Fans of Bahia, however, were not too surprised. Over the last couple of years, the club as a whole has been drawing attention to the issues surrounding Brazil as a nation. Issues such as racism, LGBTQ rights, the demarcation of indigenous lands and the treatment of female fans in football stadiums have been at the centre of their socially engaged campaigns of late. The club have also managed to reduce ticket prices while getting rid of the debt that was crippling the club. 

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Bahia tackling social issues

Bahia have been known as a fan-centric and socially engaged club for some time now. When the club was "re-founded", as current club president Guilherme Bellintani puts it, season-ticket holders were the ones who voted to bring in Bellintani. Last November, during Black Consciousness Month, the club's kit featured the names of 20 historic black Brazilian leaders on their shirts. On Mother's Day, the Bahia players walked on to the pitch holding posters of missing children and also urged anyone with information regarding the missing children to come forward. These are just two instances of the social issues taken up by the club in recent years. 

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Football has been known as a way of connecting people. By taking up social issues such as racism and LGBTQ rights, Bahia have taken a huge step towards uniting the more marginalized section of society in Brazil. As a result, Bahia have become the most progressive football club in Brazil. 

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