SERGIPANO FOOTBALL: ECONOMY, STRUCTURE AND REGIONAL INEQUALITY

Abstract

This article sought to characterize the structural and economic reality of football in Sergipe, with an emphasis on teams from the capital. To this end, it involved an effort to approach the bases of historical-dialectical materialism, based on the qualitative and quantitative nature. The results showed that the smallest unit of the federation is usually far from the media spotlight. This peripheral condition in the news is deepened by the discreet participation of Sergipe clubs in the country's football scene. The state of Sergipe does not appear in the ranking of the Northeastern teams that have won the country's main competitions, which exposes its fragility in the regional and national scenario. In this sense, in an even more specific perspective, football in Sergipe is far from occupying the main pages of football history in the Northeast. The most renowned local clubs – Confiança and Sergipe – have structural and financial problems, directly impacting the current condition of series C and D, respectively, with a “withered” calendar. The compromised scenario of the lower divisions results in little media visibility, low investments, deficient infrastructure and professionals employed temporarily.