Group of homeless people gather outside trade to see selection

The cliché that the World Cup, this year held in Qatar, is a moment of unity is half true. Not everyone is invited to the party.

In São Paulo, while fans crowded bars and squares, homeless people, away from crowds, struggled to keep up with the Brazilian team, which this Monday (5th) entered the field to face South Korea in the round of 16 .

Still in the first half of the game, the Canarinho team was already winning by 4-0 when colleagues Miguel Oliveira, João Batista, Wesley Campos and Vinicius Santos met in front of a bakery on Avenida São João, in the central region of the city.

Inside the trade, monitors showed the match. Outside, through the glass, the men watched closely.

The group lives in tents under the Elevado Presidente João Goulart, popularly called Minhocão.

Miguel, 40, was the most participatory. He shouted at Neymar and cursed at Tite, whom he said he didn’t like because he was a former Corinthians coach. Miguel is a Santos fan. Born in Caraguatatuba, on the coast of São Paulo, he has lived on the streets of São Paulo for 20 years.

The man reports that they were there because they had been mistreated elsewhere. “They kicked us out in front of other stores. They don’t even let us use the bathroom, something basic, dignified, imagine watching a game.”

Beside him, Vinicius, 28, screamed at every touch of the ball by the Brazilian team, but claimed to feel sorry for the Korean team, who still scored a goal. He claimed to be happy, but declared that he didn’t care much about football.

“The crowd all excited around while we pass several needs. Nobody sees that”, he says.

Vinicius shares a tent with Wesley, 34, who said he was more interested in seeing Neymar than the Brazilian display. The star of Paris Saint Germain, from France, was returning from injury.

“He’s the man, right? If we win something, it’s for him. I’m a big fan”, he declared.

After the game, the four planned to look for a place to wash up and eat.

“There’s a group gathered in Anhangabaú, maybe we’ll get something there, right?”, said Miguel. He was referring to the thousands of fans that made up the FIFA Fan Fest, organized in Vale do Anhangabaú.

“Yes, but they blocked us there. I doubt it will work”, said Wesley right away.

In other streets in the central region of São Paulo, some homeless people stopped in front of bars or restaurants to watch the broadcast, but were soon removed by security or local employees.

Weather conditions were a hindrance. It was raining in the capital, and many homeless people preferred to stay in their tents or sheltered, far from commercial establishments.

Police officers, in weight in the central region of the city, also contributed to keep the homeless away from any point with a monitor or screen turned on.

The last census released by the city hall, in January this year, shows that the number of homeless people increased from 24,344 to 31,884 in two years.

On the last December 2, the installation of railings in Marechal Deodoro square, in the Santa Cecília neighborhood, in the central region of the capital, led to the removal of people who had been sleeping there for months. These homeless people migrated, in large part, to Minhocão, setting up tents under the overpass.