The Brazilian Northeast is known for its great folk festivals, and one of these parties is the traditional São João (St. John in English, celebrated in the month of June). The cities of Caruaru, in Pernambuco, and Campina Grande, in Paraíba, have long time rival for the title of being the city that performs the “greatest São João Party in the world.”
With this idea, teams of Caruaru Wolves and Tropa Campina duel in two friendly clashes titled the “São João Bowl“.
The first meeting is scheduled for May 31th at the stadium Lacerdão in Caruaru.
Wolves just played once in your recent history. Photo Caruaru Wolves
According to the athlete and president of Wolves, Alexandre César, the duel’s purpose is to promote the clubs and the sport in the region.
“The aim of the game is to create a sports culture in cities and promote the São João Bowl repeat sometimes more to start a tradition. We are training for confrontation. After the last game (when Wolves were defeated by Recife Mariners in a friendly) we reviewed our game, for sure we are better. The training team together on the field once a week and separately every day.”
The game will also be historic for the Wolves, as the team will face an opponent of another State for the first time.
Tropa Campina is preparing your team to play Superliga Nordeste in second semester. Photo Tropa Campina
The return leg is not confirmed yet, since the Paraiba team must ensure the use of the field of the State University of Paraíba (a.k.a UEPB in Portuguese). The head of the Tropa, Diógenes Mendes explains.
“We confirmed with them the Games and the first will be there in Caruaru, in Lacerdão Stadium on May 31th or June 7th. But the second game of the round, it would be here in Campina, is not 100% confirmed because we need some financial assistance to rent a field and play the game. Currently, we only have the field of UEPB and there is impossible to make a match.”