This Tuesday (5), at 9:30 pm, during the match between Esporte Clube Bahia and São Paulo Futebol Clube, the Southwest sector of Arena Fonte Nova will present a striking scene: 384 empty chairs covered with shirts from various Brazilian teams.
The ’empty seats’ allude to the often irreparable consequences of violence: people stop going to stadiums out of fear, teams have to play behind closed doors as punishment and the permanent absence of fatal victims.
The action created by the Nacional Comunicação agency is part of the launch of the campaign Empty Chairs and the Occupation Movement for Peace in Footballinitiatives by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Sports, in partnership with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the National Association of Organized Fans (Anatorg) and the main Brazilian football clubs.
The objective is to promote the occupation of respect and peace in stadiums, and create a safe environment for adopting positive behaviors and reporting acts of violence that include racism, homophobia, xenophobia, attacks against women and religious intolerance.
The number of chairs symbolizes the total number of fatal victims of violence in football in recent years, according to a survey by sports journalist Rodrigo Vessoni.
Game Action – The strategy will engage players from both clubs and fans in awareness-raising activities during the match at Fonte Nova, promoting a clear message that everyone – civil society, authorities and sporting institutions – has a fundamental role in building a peaceful football environment . Representatives of the families of the fatal victims, after a painful absence in football stadiums, will be present at the Fonte Nova stadium to participate in the symbolic act for peace
“The action of ‘Empty Chairs’ creates a powerful visual intervention, revealing the devastating impact of violence. Each empty place symbolizes an interrupted story and an absence. Counting on the courage and generosity of these families made the movement even more significant”, explains Karina Monique, VP of Creation at Nacional Comunicação.
One of the family members who will be at the game is Ettore Marchiano, father of Palmeiras fan Gabriela Anelli, who died at the age of 23 on July 8, 2023, in the capital of São Paulo. She was hit by fragments from a bottle after a clash between fans around the stadium.
Another presence is Mikaelly Belinasi, twin sister of Sergio Henrique, 21, who died on August 23, 2020, after being shot with a gun. The death resulted from a widespread fight between fans, in the city of Mauá, in Greater São Paulo. In the same episode, Santos native Higor Matis Toledo, aged 22, also died, hit by a bullet.
Another empty chair will be symbolically occupied by Tiago Valdevino, uncle of Paulo Ricardo da Silva, a Sport fan, who died on May 2, 2014, after the game between the clubs Santa Cruz and Paraná, at the Arruda stadium, in Recife. The fatal victim, aged 26, was hit by a toilet thrown from the top of the stands out of the stadium by an unidentified fan.
Post-Game – From Thursday (7), support for the Empty Chairs campaign will be promoted on social media with various content to be shared by athletes, former athletes, clubs, organized fan groups, influencers and other personalities. Using the hashtags #OcupaçãoPelaPaz and #PazNoFutebol, the publications will display pieces from the campaign, mini-documentaries with testimonies full of emotion and longing from family members of Paulo Ricardo, Sergio Henrique and Gabriela, information about the panorama of violence in football and measures proposed by the Occupation Movement for Peace in Football.
In addition to the repercussion in the press and among influencers, the strategy is to boost content on social networks and publish advertising pieces in sports media on TV, radio, online and in print and on OOH digital panels.
