Cape Verde: Belonging — Terrace Edition

Words: Luca Dariol

Images: Luca Dariol

It all began almost by chance in December, during a holiday in Cape Verde. Captivated by the atmosphere, I decided to pick up my camera for a first documentary.

I wanted to understand what this historic, first-ever World Cup appearance meant to the locals. The answers I gathered carried a rare kind of purity: they told me that, deep down, just being there was already a victory.

They were taking the pitch solely for the pride of their homeland, with the simple hope of scoring a goal, winning a match, and pushing themselves as far as their dream would take them.

But football has a way of defying expectations. When Cape Verde secured two consecutive draws, I realized reality was overtaking imagination.

All it took was a sudden spark: a last-minute plan with a fellow Italian YouTuber, and we were off. A whirlwind 48-hour journey to document an achievement that seemed entirely out of reach: qualifying for the round of 16.

©Luca Dariol/ Terrace Edition. Cape Verde. Sal Island.

A milestone that, against all odds, became reality.

During those 48 hours, we didn’t just shoot a video. I felt an urgent need to freeze time through photography—to capture the very soul of a people who never stopped believing.

In the eyes of the children, the faces of the adults, and even the wonder of the tourists passing through, there was the exact same light.

The light of an entire nation that, from the first second to the last, reminded the world that no dream is ever too big to hold on to.

A sense of longing and belonging is woven into the stitches of every football and an emboldened national consciousness.