“Goleadoras” is a project that arrived in Portugal almost two months ago and that puts girls from difficult social contexts to play football. But more than that, to get to know each other better. The initiative arrived in the country through Sporting Foundation.
At 6:30 pm another training session begins at the Musgueira Social Center.
“The initial part is fundamentally an ice breaker. It’s a first moment in which we want them to feel that they will learn and grow with us, in a calm and serene environment, because we don’t know what happened during the day and we want them to the initial part is more relaxed, but also guides them to what comes later”, explains Pedro Rendeiro.
From these exercises come shares that are not always good. The reality for these girls is harsh. Some they live in social neighborhoods, others in institutions. Com difficult family contextsentering the field is a escape just as it was for Pedro Rendeiro.
“My base is also a social base. I grew up in a housing project and managed to manage the entire range that exists in that context to graduate and I felt that there were three or four people in my life who made it possible for me to embark on academic life and having gone to study. I like to think that we in this type of context can benefit from being one of those figures.”
Project tries to develop social skills
More than football skills this project, which arrived in Portugal through he wants help these girls discover themselves as women.
“We are talking about self-confidence, resilience, communication, leadership so that they can also challenge any obstacle they have along the way and also fight to have a better personal and professional future”, highlights Inês Sêco, coordinator of the Sporting Foundation.
They started with just three, but now the team already has 25 players. The youngest is 11 and the oldest is 19 years old. Inês and Lara met here like most of the other players. They talk about importance of knowing how to play as a team, respecting and listening to others others, but also listen and acknowledge criticism.
At the end of the day, the post workout feeling is what matters most.
“We became more committed, we were more relaxed, we had a good game and good training and we enjoyed being here. We had fun with our friends and we enjoyed playing”, says Inês.
“Our coaches teach us really well and we also play a few different games to get to know each other better,” adds Lara.
Influencer developed project in Venezuela
O project was born in Venezuela 13 years ago and andIt has since expanded to Colombia and the United States. Eglantina Zingg is the founder and in addition to being presenter and activist, is also a figure of great influence in Latin America.
Grew up in middle of the Venezuelan Amazon and soon realized that the Football connected her to other children of any social class or gender. He took that and created this project to give opportunities to those who don’t have them otherwise.
“I started with the idea of using football specifically for girls, it wasn’t with the idea of excluding boys, but rather to serve the part of society that wasn’t served, which are girls”, he tells SIC.
In Portugal the project is pilot e The objective is to get more clubs from Portugal and Europe to join the cause. THEthrough football level the field of inequalities.
