Whether or not sponsorship evolves in Brazil, Marta’s impact is undeniable, evident in her blog, which is full of inspiring messages not only from young women seeking guidance, sending good wishes, or recounting how Marta changed their lives, but also from boys and men who write for myriad reasons. Marta and groups like GuerreirasProject have campaigned tirelessly for gender justice, funding, and respect for women’s soccer in Brazil, whose supremely talented female squad is perennially crippled by meager government support. It’s still too early to tell what Dilma’s presidency will mean for women’s rights, writ large, but there’s little indication that even she can bring meaningful change to the world of big-money sports. Barely-clothed women will present awards (FIFA’s notoriously sexist president already drew criticism for the staging of the draw) at least one coach will ban “wives and girlfriends” from the team hotel and the press will ogle female fans and print sensationalist accounts of prostitution and “sex in the tropics,” even while Brazil (like the U.S.) struggles to crack down on sex trafficking. Like countless other extraordinary female athletes, Marta has drawn attention both for her otherworldly skills and things that have nothing to do with them, all while challenging widespread expectations about gender and sports.ĭuring the Cup we can expect the kind of imagery and division of labor that seems to mark every big sport event. Marta Vieira da Silva (known simply as “Marta”) has won or finished second as FIFA’s women’s Player of the Year an amazing nine times. If the Seleção doesn’t win, some may also grumble that the roster didn’t include arguably the best soccer player ever. If they win the Cup, she’ll be re-elected. People like to say that the political fortunes of Dilma Rousseff, the nation’s first female president, rest in the hands of the men’s team. Nonetheless, her presence on the sidelines of the boys’ championship was remarkable, all the more so because she was eight-months pregnant at the time.Ĭoach Cernicek has been on my mind during the run-up to the World Cup, where Brazilian women will shape the competition-and be shaped by it-as never before. Cernicek and her sister, Molly, had decorated college careers and helped push the wave that carried U.S. When my high school soccer team played in the state finals our coach was Ann Cernicek. Hertzman is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Illinois. Today's World Cup guest post is by Marc Hertzman, author of Making Samba.
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