May 13, 2014
A player takes a corner kick during a Sunday "pelada" soccer match in the Morro do Papagaio favela in Belo Horizonte, a World Cup host city. Sunday soccer is a decades-old tradition when Brazilians of all walks of life play on the beaches, in the slums, and on the streets matches that are known as "peladas" or "naked". Pelada can refer to a street match where everyone plays barefoot with "naked" feet, or a match on a grassless "naked" field, or a match with a ball so worn that it is "naked". With the 2014 World Cup just one month away, people of all walks of life in the host cities are spending their Sundays practicing the sport for which their country is about to become the global stage. The tournament will take place in Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Natal, Fortaleza, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Cuiaba, Manaus, and Recife.
