Girls fight for spot in Brazil
A growing number of more than 5,000 women are playing in local championships.
SAO PAULO:
At the foot of a Sao Paulo slum, 10 girls played a football game in a cold gym, fighting for goals and acceptance in Brazil’s male-dominated sport.
While the country’s attention is on the World Cup and Brazil star forward Neymar, the girls of the Rosinha favela quietly dream of getting equal treatment in the land of the “jogo bonito” (beautiful game).
Ana Julia de Souza, 12, chose football shorts over a ballet tutu even though her father does not approve.
“My dad doesn’t like it very much when I come here. He wants me to go to ballet lessons,” said Ana. “But I prefer to play football.”
A growing number of more than 5,000 women are playing in local championships.
But they have yet to get a professional league to call their own, despite being the home of football legend Marta, who has been named the FIFA women’s world player of the year five times.
The futsal gym at the Rosinha slum is run by J12, a non-governmental organization that wants to help girls break the glass ceiling. “It is very hard for a woman to dedicate herself to football,” said Jessica Spinola, a 26-year-old two-time world futsal champion and co-founder of J12.
“We lack resources, we lack support, we lack professionalism. Plus, there is prejudice.”
Several girls have moved on to Sao Paulo clubs that have female teams.
“I love scoring goals,” said Beatriz de Carvalho, 11.
Like most of the players, Carvalho is black and comes from a humble family.
“People think that because we like football we’re tomboys, but that’s not the case,” said Vitoria Santana, 12.
Thais Moraes, a 22-year-old who plays with the older girls, said she had to endure a lot to be accepted by men.
“They made fun of me. I suffered a lot,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2014.
At the foot of a Sao Paulo slum, 10 girls played a football game in a cold gym, fighting for goals and acceptance in Brazil’s male-dominated sport.
While the country’s attention is on the World Cup and Brazil star forward Neymar, the girls of the Rosinha favela quietly dream of getting equal treatment in the land of the “jogo bonito” (beautiful game).
Ana Julia de Souza, 12, chose football shorts over a ballet tutu even though her father does not approve.
“My dad doesn’t like it very much when I come here. He wants me to go to ballet lessons,” said Ana. “But I prefer to play football.”
A growing number of more than 5,000 women are playing in local championships.
But they have yet to get a professional league to call their own, despite being the home of football legend Marta, who has been named the FIFA women’s world player of the year five times.
The futsal gym at the Rosinha slum is run by J12, a non-governmental organization that wants to help girls break the glass ceiling. “It is very hard for a woman to dedicate herself to football,” said Jessica Spinola, a 26-year-old two-time world futsal champion and co-founder of J12.
“We lack resources, we lack support, we lack professionalism. Plus, there is prejudice.”
Several girls have moved on to Sao Paulo clubs that have female teams.
“I love scoring goals,” said Beatriz de Carvalho, 11.
Like most of the players, Carvalho is black and comes from a humble family.
“People think that because we like football we’re tomboys, but that’s not the case,” said Vitoria Santana, 12.
Thais Moraes, a 22-year-old who plays with the older girls, said she had to endure a lot to be accepted by men.
“They made fun of me. I suffered a lot,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2014.