Museum of Tomorrow event celebrated the magic of Brazil | OneFootball

The unprecedented nature of the event marking the call-up of the 26 players of the Brazilian National Team for this year’s World Cup was praised by former players and celebrities who attended the Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio, on Monday afternoon. Musical performances, skits, and plenty of creativity highlighted the celebration organized by the CBF, which was covered by more than 700 media professionals from 14 countries.

Right at the start of the preparations for the announcement of the squad list, CBF president Samir Xaud was called to the stage, spoke about the anticipation of hearing the names chosen by Ancelotti, and about the changes made during one year in charge of the confederation.

“A lot has changed at the CBF, and the greatest proof of that is this event, the biggest squad announcement event of all time. In these past few months at the helm of the CBF, we have made structural changes to Brazilian football, modernized and professionalized refereeing, worked on our financial fair play, and we are taking care of our youth system with the creation of the Youth Working Group. So, I am very proud to be here today, eager, very hopeful, and emotional, aware of this new moment in Brazilian football,” said Samir Xaud, who thanked the support of Rio City Hall and the state government, the Navy, and the CBF’s partners and sponsors for helping make the event possible.

Vice-president Gustavo Dias praised the CBF’s professional managementCredits: Rafael Ribeiro / CBF

CBF vice-president Gustavo Dias Henrique also took the stage before hundreds of guests, paid tribute to those present, and shared his message about the future of Brazilian football:

“It is an honor for all of you who lead Brazilian football, the federation presidents — and I want to greet, through my dear José Vanildo (also a CBF vice-president), our dean — to be able to speak about this renewal the CBF is going through. As Samir said, we are revolutionizing football in one year. We are tackling not only financial fair play, but also the Brazilian football calendar, so heavily criticized by everyone. But on this very special day, we want to pay tribute to all our world champions. The CBF thought of once again creating the legends team, following a conversation with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who told us how important it is to bring the world champions back. And I would like all the world champions here today to stand up,” Gustavo asked, before then turning to Carlo Ancelotti and adding: “Our National Team is in very good hands with an Italian who has the heart and soul of a Brazilian.”.

At that moment, Romário, Zinho, Bebeto, Branco, Edmílson, Ricardinho, Denílson, Paulo Cesar Caju, and Edílson, some of those champions, answered the call and were warmly applauded.

With light and good-humored hosting by Tino Marcos and Erika Januza, the event also had other highly emotional moments, when Zagallo and Pelé were honored with videos telling the story of their journeys in world football, and when Geovani Silva, a former National Team midfielder who died early Monday morning, was remembered and honored by everyone.

Before that, the audience watched a journey through time recounting a bit of Brazil’s five world titles, also with special footage from each of the Seleção’s triumphs and short skits highlighting the passion of anonymous fans for the Brazilian National Team.

Women’s football had its place in the men’s squad announcement celebrationCredits: Rafael Ribeiro / CBF

The afternoon was made even more complete with a special mention of the Women’s National Team, which is preparing for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil — the first time the competition will be held in South America. Called to the stage, head coach Arthur Elias, CBF Women’s National Teams coordinator Cris Gambaré, and Brazil’s 2004 Olympic medalist Aline Pellegrino, currently the CBF’s Competitions manager and executive director of Legacy and Institutional Relations for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, spoke about the importance of the sport and the support the CBF board has been giving to strengthen women’s football in the country.

The speeches were interspersed with musical performances, such as Dilsinho’s, who sang the new version of the song “É uma partida de futebol,” a Skank hit released in 1996. It was also possible to hear part of the official song that will back the National Team at the World Cup. It is called “Bate no Peito.” The track brings together the voices of Ludmilla, João Gomes, Zeca Pagodinho, Samuel Rosa, and Veigh, acclaimed artists from different genres, styles, and generations, and was produced by Papatinho.

Before Carlo Ancelotti read out the list of called-up players, CBF Men’s National Teams coordinator Rodrigo Caetano listed some new World Cup rules and praised the structure the CBF has provided to the Brazilian National Team. Right after that, the spotlight remained fixed for several minutes on the Italian coach, “with a Brazilian soul.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.