São Paulo’s famed várzea hub fears extinction as court approves Campo de Marte demolitions | OneFootball

São Paulo’s famed Campo de Marte várzea hub faces uncertainty after a court cleared the way for a new park.

According to Globo.com, a 2025 city deal for Parque Campo de Marte hands operations to Concessionária Campo de Marte. On 10 February, demolitions were authorised.

The 385,000 square metre site near Avenida Braz Leme has hosted Cruz da Esperança, SADE, Pitangueiras, Paulista and Baruel. Plans promise five new pitches, but clubs resist without their clubhouses and identity protected.

Aliança was razed on 12 March. Run since 2002 by Soraya Marks, it drew 1,000 people and hosted a women’s festival from 2019 with more than 100 teams and around 800 players.

Soraya maintained the ground, lived on site and ran a school that launched Matheus Bidu, now at Corinthians. She says she was excluded from talks, lost her home and income, and now survives on R$400 and donations.

Cruz da Esperança, founded in 1958 by black taxi drivers, is a cultural beacon with samba events drawing up to 1,500. Icons including Serginho Chulapa played there.

During talks, Cruz quit the association after being told samba could not continue. Other clubs accepted the plan, as the association said new pitches honour the city’s grassroots history, a view president Antonio de Jesus Marques disputes.

On Friday, a repossession order permitted police force and further demolitions at Cruz’s base. The club appealed and gained 60 more days to leave, while a petition with more than 23,000 signatures seeks to halt the changes.

Source: Globo.com