Canaa Ec

A defender raised on meals funded by a church social project in the Bahian backlands ended up on loan to Flamengo in 2020, signed permanently soon after — Flamengo bought 60% of Cleiton Silva's economic rights on the back of one Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior campaign in Canaã's shirt. He was not the only one to leave that way: Riquelme Souza Machado moved on to São Paulo's youth academy, and in 2022 Canaã eliminated Juventus-SP from the same tournament.

The club exists because of Projeto Nova Canaã, a social initiative tied to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God that feeds and educates children across the Northeast. Bishop Sérgio Corrêa, once a professional footballer himself, still runs it as club president. Canaã Esporte Clube was registered with the Bahia Football Federation in 2018, putting a football side on top of what the project was already doing.

Two years later it won its first trophy in its new home, the Sub-20 Copa Brasília, beating Brasiliense on penalties after a goalless final.

It now plays as Vento Forte do Cerrado, strong wind of the cerrado, at the Estádio Municipal de Planaltina, an 8,000-seat ground in the Goiás town.