“Grandes coisas de um pequeno futebol” : a reforma do Estádio Leonardo da Silveira e a criação da divisão especial de profissionais no futebol paraibano (1961-1962)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discuss the transformations that took place in Paraíba’s football between 1961 and 1962, particularly the creation of the Professional Division and the renovation of the Leonardo Vinagre da Silveira Stadium, popularly known as Estádio da Graça. The temporal framework engages with the memoir written by sportsman Walfredo Marques, who at the time was president of the Federação Paraibana de Futebol, alongside vice-president Robson Espínola, then Secretary of Transportation and Public Works under Governor Pedro Gondim. In addition to highlighting the intersection of politics and football, these reforms were not accepted by all social classes, generating tensions around the sporting practice in Paraíba, tensions that became visible in newspaper reports. Beyond the intersection of politics and football, the changes implemented were not widely accepted, generating tensions surrounding the practice of the sport in Paraíba and sparking extensive debate in the state press. To analyze these tensions, the study draws on Henri Lefebvre’s theoretical categories of space and the right to the city. Methodologically, the research is based on Marques’s memoir and on the newspapers A União, O Norte, and Correio da Paraíba, in dialogue with Tânia Regina de Luca’s reflections on the use of print sources in historical research. This approach makes it possible to investigate the relationship between urban spaces and football in Paraíba, the organization of official and professional championships, as well as to better understand Estádio da Graça and its surrounding streets, reflecting on both the minor and major aspects of football in Paraíba within that historical context.