Every football story needs a beginning, and for thousands of fans who have used Torneo by Sofascore to follow grassroots football scores, this one already had a familiar one. Now it has a much bigger stage. Super Copa Pioneer, the tournament widely known across Brazil as the “Champions League da Várzea,” is the subject of a new Netflix documentary series, The Root of the Game (Portuguese title: Várzea: Onde Nasce o Futebol), premiering June 20.

For a competition that has been tracked match by match on Torneo since 2023, with Sofascore serving as an official partner in 2024, the jump to a global streaming platform marks one of the most remarkable journeys in amateur football.

Várzea, the term used in Brazil (especially in the favelas) for amateur football, is widely considered the breeding ground of the country’s football culture. And no tournament represents that world better than Super Copa Pioneer.

A tournament built to mirror the Champions League

Super Copa Pioneer was created to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Pioneer FC, founded on June 5, 1981, and one of the most traditional clubs in Brazilian várzea football. The tournament has grown into the 80 best teams from the greater São Paulo region, selected through a strict evaluation process, and run by a staff of 90 professionals covering everything from broadcasting to security.

The nickname “Champions League da Várzea” is not just a marketing line. For years, the tournament’s trophy, nicknamed the Orelhuda, closely echoed the design of the actual UEFA Champions League trophy, before being updated for the competition’s 10th anniversary. Fittingly, the 2026 final will be broadcast by TNT Sports, which holds 100% of the UEFA Champions League broadcasting rights in Brazil.

The numbers behind the tournament rival those of professional competitions. More than 450,000 people are mobilized throughout the event each year, with over 180 matches and more than 1,200 players taking part. The 2023 final was held at Allianz Parque, Palmeiras’ stadium, in front of more than 30,000 fans. The champion takes home a prize pool exceeding R$250,000, higher than many lower-league professional tournaments offer.

Competitive balance has also defined the tournament’s identity: across nine editions, there have been nine different champions, a statistic rarely matched anywhere in football.

Where stars are made

Several former professional players have featured in Super Copa Pioneer over the years, among them Wellington Paulista, who played for several major Brazilian clubs and West Ham, Cristian Baroni, formerly of Corinthians and Fenerbahçe, and Pará, a former Santos defender.

Netflix’s documentary goes even further in tracing the tournament’s connection to the professional game. According to Netflix, The Root of the Game features global stars such as Cafu and Raphinha revisiting their roots in grassroots football, reflecting on how dirt pitches and their communities shaped their paths to international success.

Produced by Ginga Pictures in partnership with R21, and directed by Alec Cutter, the series follows players and coaches competing for the Super Copa Pioneer title, capturing what Netflix describes as one of the most authentic expressions of Brazilian culture.

Read more: Torneo by Sofascore is now fully self-service

From scoreboard to streaming screen

For Sofascore and Torneo, the platform built to give organizers of amateur and grassroots competitions professional-grade tools to manage and broadcast their results, Super Copa Pioneer‘s rise is a reminder of why these tournaments matter far beyond their local communities.

What started as scores and fixtures tracked on Torneo has become a story big enough for a global audience, proof that the path from a dirt pitch in São Paulo to the world’s biggest sport can run through the same passion, rivalry, and community spirit that defines football everywhere.

The Root of the Game premieres globally on Netflix on June 20.

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