In 2017, photojournalist Simon Di Principe travelled around Brazil for eight months on a journey to discover the underbelly of ‘real’ football and community in a country synonymous with the beautiful game. 

What he experienced was some of the most overlooked neighbourhoods and discovered it’s not just a game, but a social ritual, an escape and a way of life which brings communities together

The word ‘Várzea’ refers to the geographical terrain of the ‘floodplain’ areas football was first played in Brazil in the late 1800’s. 

Várzea is available to buy online and you can keep up to date with Simon Di Principe’s work on Instagram.

‘Várzea’ is also a word associated with amateur football in Brazil; a word used in slang terms for something that is broken or not quite right. 

Di Principe’s photographs portray the social structures which nurture the continuation of the Várzea in a contemporary context.

“To the many people that play it and watch it, Várzea is a way of life. It’s football, drinking, eating, dancing, socialising – it’s a way to escape their everyday lives and be happy amongst friends.”

“It’s a sense of community and it brings happiness and joy. Football is just a catalyst to bring people together and unite people.” 

Born in London to an Italian father and an English mother, Di Principe wanted to go to Brazil to document the essence of football as an outsider. 

“We think of Brazil as being synonymous with football. I wanted to discover the passion, the culture and what it means to people, rather than the professional commercial side. I wanted to get to the underbelly of real football and the community.”

“I’m eternally grateful to those who contributed to the book, providing a refreshingly honest accounts of Várzea’s nuanced history. Most of the people I met play Vàrzea football themselves as did many of their fathers and grandfathers.”

“I was sitting around doing nothing, it kept me out for about 3 to 4 months. It gave me a break from commercial photography and I was thinking about projects I could do. That’s when I ventured down to hackney marshes on crutches and started taking portraits of the players. That became ‘Grass Roots’ my first book.” 

Currently in Mexico City, Di Principe has a few projects in mind for the future but they are totally un football related, “I’ve had put them on a back burner due to the global pandemic and I’m in no rush. My projects take years so it’s a marathon not a sprint.”