Women’s football still struggles for recognition in Brazil

On Sunday morning, Brazil’s women’s team took the field for its World Cup opener against Jamaica. Broadcast on three stations, including two nationwide terrestrial channels, the country cheered the team on to a 3-0 victory, with a hat-trick from Cristiane. Just 40 years ago, however, women’s football was illegal in Brazil, and had been since 1941.

Seen as “not suited to the female body” and overly violent, the sport was prohibited for Brazilian women, while the men’s team took the globe by storm with World Cup wins in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

However, even after the sport was properly regulated in the mid 1980s, the view of women’s football as being “not ladylike” persisted. Among members of the current Brazil squad, there are still several players who suffered constant prejudice to get where they are today.

Central midfielder Formiga, currently playing in her seventh World Cup, tells of how her brothers used to beat her up every day because she played football. Marta, six-time World Player of the Year and with more goals for Brazil than Pelé, suffered similar torments, with her brothers locking her in her bedroom and forcing her to miss...