First Indigenous Professional Football Team in Brazil

A group of Brazilian advertisers voluntarily joined forces to create a campaign for Gavião Kyikatejê Football Club, the first professional football team in Brazil formed by Indigenous players.

Founded in 2009, Gavião Kyikatejê meets all the requirements set by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to be considered a professional team but has never had official sponsors. The initiative opens up sponsorship slots and invites brands to support the team through sports marketing actions. “We are looking for companies willing to invest in the team. This will help us improve the structure and the quality of life of the athletes and the Kyikatejê village community,” explains Zeca Gavião, the first Brazilian Indigenous person to complete a higher education degree in Football and president of the Indigenous team.

The collective came together after a well-known Serie A football coach referred to Indigenous people in a crude manner to allude to the disorganization of his team on the field. The phrase “it’s not a team of Indians” sparked controversy and made headlines in the press.

Although the coach apologized publicly, his statement highlighted a recurring problem in public discourse: the lack of literacy regarding Brazil’s Indigenous peoples.

The creatives Victor Toyofuku (Creative VP Area23), Yohanna Ioshua (Senior Copywriter WMcCann SP), and Henrique Louzada (Copywriter Ogilvy Amsterdam) invited Thiago Balma, executive producer, and Luiz Whately, associate director at Balma Films, to develop a campaign to promote the Indigenous team and question outdated ideas, encouraging the public to reflect on the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Brazil to this day. “Gavião has already made history on its own, through its own effort. We tell their story as a tribute and to help propel the team to fly even higher,” says Victor Toyofuku.

For Thiago Balma, “Gavião having an Indigenous athlete team and not having any institutional support reflects how far we are from achieving inclusion in football.”

As they explored creative paths, the group brought in additional partners to participate in the project. Filmed in 16mm by Balma Films, the film includes animated scenes produced by Dirty Work and a soundtrack by Bumblebeat. The post-production was handled by the post-production company Cuadro Post.

Together, professionals and production companies sought the advice and approval of Chief Zeca Gavião (Pepkrakte Jakukreikapiti Ronore Konxarti), leader of the Kyikatejê village and president of Gavião Kyikatejê Football Club for the execution of the project.

The animation directors, Faga Melo and Gustavo Leal, immersed themselves in the history of the Kyikatejê ethnicity to incorporate elements that represented the village, its symbols, and legends – such as that of the Gavião itself, which gives the team its name. To bring the audience closer to the ethnicity, some scenes in the film were hand-painted.

“By creating a parallel narrative through animation, we sought to add a mystical layer that contrasted with the documentary feel of the captured images,” explains Leal. “By telling the legend, we made the hero’s journey. This was the way we found to convey the strength of this team. We want the viewer to feel the Kyikatejê energy to truly understand who these athletes are,” concludes Faga.

“By telling the story of Gavião Kyikatejê, we bring visibility to the team and treat Indigenous peoples with the respect they deserve,” concludes Luiz Whately, scene director at Balma Films