Golaço Stories

        In 1978 the CONCACAF Champions League (named CONCACAF Champions Cup at the time) was split into 3 different zones. The North-American Zone for USA and Mexico, the Caribbean Zone for the islands plus Suriname and Guyana, and the Central-American Zone for the countries of that region. The champion of the Caribbean Zone would go directly to the final, while the other two would play a semi-final to determine the opponent. In North America, Leones Negros defeated Pumas in the regional final and took the crown. In Central America, Comunicaciones from Guatemala defeated Saprissa from Costa Rica and...

      Joh   In 1998 the São Paulo State Soccer Federation, of Brazil, noticed that the clubs it governed weren't doing well. The "Big 4" of the state, São Paulo FC, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Santos, hadn't won a major title in 3 years and the Federation decided to do something to shake things up. The Federation decided to pull a marketing stunt, it bought Marcelinho Carioca from Valencia for $7million USD and would give the player for free to one of the previously mentioned "Big 4" clubs. Who got Marcelinho would be decided with a telethon they named "Disque...

         Certain international matches, such as San Marino x Moldova for example, are seen by the casual fan as very alternative. But what if I told you it can get much more obscure, beyond FIFA and beyond conventional geography? CONIFA (Confederation of Independent Football Associations) organizes the world of soccer for unrecognized autonomous regions, indigenous populations, immigrant communities, isolated cultures, and more. Here are a few examples that showcase who the CONIFA members are: While Argentina plays the FIFA World Cup, the Armenian Argentine Community plays the CONIFA World Cup. Same goes for the Mapuche Football Team,...

       Meet the Liga de Balompie Mexicano, Mexico's alternative, independent soccer league that has nothing to do with Liga MX, the Mexican Federation or FIFA. The league was founded in 2020 with the goal of giving opportunity to players who didn't get a spot in the existing professional clubs, as well as clubs who didn't meet the minimum requirements to participate in the existing pyramid. The initial idea seemed interesting, after all 3 division for a country of 126 million people doesn't seem like enough. They even managed to revive, and include, tradition clubs such as Veracruz and Toros...

          As we all know, aside from fan apparel or promotional material, sponsorships are not allowed on national team jerseys. In the beginning of the 1980's however, the Brazilian Confederation received a sponsorship of 3 million USD from the Brazilian Coffee Industry, a fortune for the time. A jersey with the company's coffee leaf logo was made (as seen in the picture above with Pele's billboard) but FIFA quickly banned it. The confederation decided that the solution was to bend the rules, they redesigned the crest with the Jules Rimet trophy and inserted the logo inside of it...