although sports based on kicking a cloth ball previously existed for a very long time across the world, the rules for what would be later be called football in almost every country ('futebol' in portuguese), only become crystallized at that time.

it is said that the sport arrived in brazil in the very last years of that century, and the first team of rio de janeiro, baptized fluminense football club, was established in 1902 - from that point on it became an undeniable part of the city.