Although the player Marta has already won the best in the world award six times, there are still few women in Brazilian football. In a mostly male space, they are little recognized: If we compare the two main stars of Brazilian football, it is easy to see the difference. On the one hand, Neymar – one of the greatest players in men’s football – and, on the other, Marta. He receives more than 91.5 million euros a year; she, 340 thousand euros. The equivalent of just 0.3% of the Paris Saint-Germain star’s salary.
Going back a bit in history, we found a reason for this difference.. Between 1941 and 1979, a decree prohibited women from playing football in Brazil. And the justification for the ban on football in the country is that the practice goes against the female nature, as the sport would be too violent and masculine. This meant that the girls not only did not play soccer, it also kept them away from any participation in the world of soccer..
Today, more than 40 years after the end of this decree, female participation is encouraged: since 2019, Serie A teams in the Brazilian men’s championship are required to maintain a women’s team. In other words, from banned, women’s football became mandatory!
In addition, professional women’s football started to gain more space in the media and, for the first time in history, in 2019, the Women’s Football World Cup was shown on an open TV channel. They also gained exclusive spaces for news and comments, such as the website Dibradoras.
Women’s football youth teams also received more incentives. It is the case of the Galácticas FC, Betim team that has a partnership with the Ramacrisna Institute. The Club has existed since 2019 and has already competed in local tournaments and served as the beginning of the careers of players who are now on professional teams.
The Ramacrisna Institute supports providing space for training and has already helped in raising funds public notice. In 2019, the project was awarded by the Sementes from Program Itaú Social notice. At the time, the Institute helped in managing the project, the funds received and the proposed activities. The actions were developed throughout 2020 and included the formalization of the team and registration in the Betim Sports League. The election of the board was made, as well as the minutes of foundation, statute and CNPJ of the team. It also offered training courses for the athletes, such as Personal Marketing, Sports Nutrition and Entrepreneurship. In addition to thematic lives and lectures on health and gender equality and also on sport.
After Ramacrisna’s support, more women joined the team: going from 29 to more than 40 athletes. The vice-president of the Ramacrisna Institute, Solange Bottaro, points out that supporting Galácticas F.C. is part of the actions for gender equality, one of the SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals to which Ramacrisna contributes.
“Many times, people say that gender equality exists, that everyone supports it, but it’s not like that. There are social determinations that prevent women from fulfilling themselves. Every place is for women. Everything she dreams of and wants to do, she has the right to pursue”, she believes. Solange also emphasizes that Ramacrisna’s support also positively impacted the team’s results. “They have won and been the pride of Betim. This shows that when you give them an opportunity, the woman stands out”, she says.
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For the players, being on a team with better infrastructure helped not only to do better in the sport, but also to change some opinions about the role of women in society. This is mainly due to the discussions promoted by the Ramacrisna Institute.
Being part of the team is also a way to exercise the body and mind, improving mental health and increasing the feeling of well-being. In addition, some see Galacticas F.C. as the fulfillment of their dream of playing football. This is the case of striker Francielle Lopes.
“I always wanted to join a team and I knew about this project and had the opportunity to play. I was surprised, because I didn’t imagine that I would have an infrastructure as advanced as the team has. It’s a very organized team with great equipment,” she points out..
Learn a little about Ramacrisna’s work with Galacticas F.C.:.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5io1lOl4BU
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