The 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off this Thursday, June 12, 2014, with a match between hosts Brazil and their Group A opponents Croatia. Christopher Pillitz‘s new book, Brazil: The Beautiful Game (Prestel), will give soccer fans from all over the world a reason to celebrate. A press release from the publisher says Pillitz’s work “reveals the sport as Brazil’s religion. His bold and brightly colored photographs show players of every age and walk of life.” The book takes you on a visual journey through Brazil’s populated favelas, stadiums and fields, and depicts fans of every age (including skateboarders and priests).

As a veteran photojournalist, Pillitz has traveled the world using his camera to document what he sees. On his website he writes, “In these intervening years I have had the good fortune to work in some 80+ countries exploring all manner of subjects, from the political, to the environmental, the social to the hedonistic, from the scintillatingly uplifting to the downright depressing. Seeing the best of humankind to the worst. It has been a riveting journey of learning and discovery filled with surprises, heart-stopping moments of disappointment, elation, thrill. A voyage filled with poetry and grit, awash with emotional resonance and delight.”