Some places are more than shops. They are meeting points, informal museums, territories where the memory of football actually breathes. Garrincha Shirts, in partnership with Cancha Store, has created one of those places in the heart of Belo Horizonte — and if you haven't been yet, this article will convince you to go.
Third floor, Mercado Novo: where Belo Horizonte keeps its culture
The Mercado Novo, in downtown Belo Horizonte, is one of the most alive addresses in the city. Across its three floors you find gastronomy, craft goods, vinyl records, comic books and, now, real football. On the third floor, in unit 3091, Garrincha Shirts has joined forces with Cancha Store to create something Belo Horizonte didn't have before: a space dedicated to the deep culture of football — original shirts, books, collectibles and collective memory.
Outside, a Brazilian flag and green-and-yellow pennants tell you you've arrived in the right place. Inside, football is on every shelf, every rail, every detail.
What you'll find
The Garrincha Shirts + Cancha Store floor is a declaration of love for South American football in its most authentic form. Some of the pieces that stop visitors in their tracks:
- Deportivo Palestino shirts (Chile) — the club founded by the Palestinian community in Chile in 1920, now wearing the Bank of Palestine as chest sponsor. One of the most politically charged and culturally singular shirts in world football. The number 1 keeper shirt, famously featuring the map of Palestine, is among the most discussed kit designs in South American football history.
- América Mineiro Campeonato Brasileiro champion shirt — a Minas Gerais rarity representing one of the most improbable title runs in Brazilian football history.
- National teams and clubs from across South America — from household names to teams most Brazilian supporters have never encountered.
- "10 Anos Sada Cruzeiro" book — celebrating one of Brazilian volleyball's most dominant dynasties, produced with editorial quality rare in Brazilian sport publishing.
- Books by Vitor Ribeiro-Santos — including "Apologia ao Futebol Menor" (Apology for Minor Football) and "Imagens da Alegre Melancolia" (Images of Happy Melancholy), works that place grassroots football at the centre of Brazilian cultural conversation.
- Funko Pops and collectibles of players and clubs, badge pins, commemorative pennants and other items for collectors across Latin America.
The iconic Garrincha Shirts table
One of the first things you see as you approach the space is Garrincha Shirts' custom display table: a black tablecloth printed with a bold white illustration of Garrincha — the greatest dribbler in football history — alongside the inscription "SHIRTS — EST. 2002". A single object that tells the story of over two decades dedicated to finding, authenticating and sharing the best football shirts in the world.
Garrincha Shirts: est. 2002 — over 20 years of collecting
Garrincha Shirts has existed since 2002 — before social media, before the shirt market exploded in Brazil, before "kit culture" became a global trend. What began as a personal obsession evolved into one of the country's most respected curators of original football shirts. Every piece in the physical and online collection goes through a rigorous authentication process. No Thai replicas. No reproductions. Only originals.
The physical store in Mercado Novo is the physical home of that story — the place where supporters, collectors, researchers and curious visitors can see, touch and understand why a football shirt can be worth far more than the fabric it's made from.
Why visiting in person changes everything
Buying online is convenient. But visiting Garrincha Shirts + Cancha Store at Mercado Novo is a different experience entirely. It means talking to someone who knows the story behind every piece. It means picking up a Deportivo Palestino shirt and asking "where did this come from?". It means flicking through Apologia ao Futebol Menor and understanding that the football that doesn't appear on broadcast TV also has its beauty and its dignity.
It is a store that educates while it sells — and sells because it educates.
How to get there
Garrincha Shirts + Cancha Store is on the third floor of Mercado Novo, unit 3091, in the centre of Belo Horizonte. Mercado Novo is located on Avenida Curitiba at Rua Carijós, easily walkable from the main metro stations and bus stops in the city centre.
If you're from Belo Horizonte, there's no excuse. If you're passing through, Mercado Novo is a mandatory stop. Read verified reviews from people who have already visited and bought at Trustindex — and come see it for yourself.