The untold story of Scot who was 'father of Brazilian football'

Now the story of Charles Miller, the son of a Scottish railway engineer who took the game to the South American country, is to be told in an Edinburgh Festival Fringe show by a Brazilian theatre company.

Charles Miller, the son of John Miller, a Scottish railway engineer who lived in São Paulo, was educated in Southampton and played football at a county level for Hampshire.

In October 1894, he returned to São Paulo, where his parents lived, carrying two footballs and a set of playing rules, which led to him organising a famous match between the São Paulo Railway Company and the Gas Company in April 1895. He subsequently helped set-up the football club São Paulo Athletic Club, and was a founder of the Liga Paulista, the main Brazilian football league.

The play, which is based on the book God is Brazilian: Charles Miller, The Man Who Brought Football To Brazil by Josh Lacey, was inspired by a chance conversation with a Brazilian diplomat while the team were in Edinburgh during last year’s Fringe, performing their show Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet.

Director Fagner Rodrigues said: “The inspiration came about when we were in Edinburgh last year for the Fringe. All Brazilians know that football came to Brazil via Charles Miller, but we weren’t aware of the story of Charles Miller, that his father was from Scotland.

He said: “We found out the story while we were having a beer, which is where things often happen. We were with the deputy consulate of Brazil in Edinburgh. She was talking to us about the connections between Brazil and Scotland and the story of Charles Miller came up. At that moment, something popped in my head and I realised there was a story to be told.

“I don’t think people in Scotland know about this story, even in Brazil people don’t know, even though Charles Miller Square is right in front of a municipal football stadium in Sao Paulo. It will be a new learning for both cultures.”

Brazil and Scotland are in the same group in the World Cup and are due to play each other on Wednesday.

He added: “It was a happy coincidence that this play came about in the year of the World Cup. We had started talking about the play and forming ideas before we found out that Brazil and Scotland were in the same group at the World Cup.”

Dribble intertwines the deeply personal story of the performer’s relationship with his own father with football, masculinity, sexuality, and belonging with the story of Mr Miller.

Mr Rodrigues said: “We hope that Dribble can start a discussion about themes in the show show like xenophobia, homophobia and racism that we see happening not just in Brazilian football, but all over the world, every day. We hope audiences will connect and reflect with us on these topics even after the show finishes.”

He added: “We're trying to create a show that represents all of the cast and creative team involved. Some of us love and are passionate about football, some of us hate it. We each have our own sad and beautiful stories about football, so I hope Dribble will resonate with our audiences, whatever their feelings are about the sport."

Dribble, which is part of the São Paulo showcase at this year’s festival, will be performed at Buttercup at Underbelly from 5 to 31 August, after a premiere at a festival in Brazil.