ISB brings the Indigenous League football competition to international audiences

Navi Sports in partnership with International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) is bringing the new Indigenous League to global audiences

The Indigenous League, a project created by the start up Navi Sports in partnership with International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), is dedicated to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Rainforest. For the first time an alliance is being built between different native communities so they can come together and get to know each other at sporting events promoting their culture, their identity and talent.

Through the most popular sport in the world – football – Navi Sports is aiming to connect the guardians of the most important forest on the planet.
The Indigenous League project was developed by Navi Sports’ CVO and co-founder, Flora Dutra and co-founder and CSO Ricardo Birenbaum, plus Michele Naili, Navi Sports’ CEO, and ISB’s Ursula Romero who is also COO at Navi Sports. It is an initiative to promote the inclusion and recognition of indigenous peoples of the Amazon through direct indigenous governance.

Every visual part of the project was designed by Enoque Marubo, an indigenous artist from the Javari Valley, Brazil, and also head of marketing for Navi Sports. According to Dutra: “Every part of the creative elements of the project was designed with great care and love. Our collaborators in the local territory are indigenous and this is very important for promoting not only the local economy but also for empowering the role of Indigenous Peoples related to climate change. All Indigenous League materials are made by the guardians using natural resources from the forest itself, such as nets, goal posts and, of course, the ball. As time continues, we will create a sustainable ecosystem.”

ISB is producing the new Indigenous League and distributing it to broadcasters around the world

The Indigenous League pilot was carried out in the city of Rio Branco, in the state of Acre, Brazil. Guidelines were established to ensure the Indigenous League respected the culture, values and rights of indigenous peoples. To ensure that everyone benefits equally, Navi Sports secured community consent for recordings in order to set a precedent. Additionally, it distributed the recorded content globally to more than 200 television channels so they can share this passion for football.

The official start of the first Indigenous League Games is to be scheduled for the months of September and October 2024 with the Yanomami Indigenous Land, represented by the Urihi Yanomami Association, and the most diverse Vale do Javari, represented by the Kapyvanaway Association. With the participation of the Yanomami People and the Marubo People, these sporting events not only highlight the importance of cultural and ethnic preservation, but also strengthen community ties and promote indigenous pride through sport. Games not only serve as an opportunity to exchange ideas, but also as a means of preserving ancestral traditions and transmitting intergenerational knowledge.

Navi Sports is aiming to host the Indigenous League Championship 2025, a landmark event that will coincide with COP30, the largest climate conference in recent decades. Matches will be held at the emblematic Mangueirão Stadium in Belém, Pará, Brazil. This will be the perfect occasion to showcase the sporting and cultural talents of indigenous communities from the six Amazonian countries: Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.

This event not only highlights the importance of environmental preservation and traditional indigenous knowledge, but also reinforces the crucial role that indigenous communities play. Different global leaders will be among the Indigenous League’s audience. The Indigenous League hopes this historic moment inspires concrete action towards a more sustainable and inclusive future for all people and the planet.