Abstract

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the practice of modern sports in Brazil took place primarily within social clubs but also within schools. Social clubs, as institutions of the modern bourgeoisie, appeared in Brazil as centers of modern sports practices, emulating Europe in its efforts of popularizing sports through the elite in a more effective way. These institutions arose because of the transformations of the public realm in the midst of the formation of a bourgeois social space. This paper will explore the expansion of sports activities in the city of Recife as a sign of “rationality” and “modernity” within the idea of “civilization” for the new nation. Attention will also be given to the social, multiple character of modern sports, along with the power of the press, conceding sports to reach different strata of society, as well as some of the specificities of key local institutions.