Brazil Women

Although today the Brazilian Women's National Team is one of the best in the world, it was not that long ago that women were not even allowed to watch a game. The women's game filtered sporadically throughout Brazil with popular traction in the early 20th century. Magazines such as O imparcial and Jornal dos sports covered the women's game praising their achievements in local cup competitions. Yet, the traditional order of futbol as "purely masculine" came into contention resulting in the games downfall. Until, the mid-1940s when Brazil became a dictatorship subsequently banning the women's game.

Banned by the Minister of Education and Health in 1941, eugenic ideologies from the new dictatorship called for the protection of womanly bodies, thus sports became a disqualified endeavor. The game was male dominated, and those who could not perform well were even called feminine at times. Throughout the time of the ban, women were observed playing quite frequently forcing the Conselho Nacional de Desportos (CND) to take charge and reissue bans that were not working. In 1965, Deliberation no. 7 further forced an end to all women's sports in Brazil, not just football. This ban would not be lifted until the late 1970s, when Brazil passed Amnesty Laws allowing political exiles back into the country.

A surge of Brazilian feminists returned to their country eager to change the social landscape inspired by the Western feminist movements of the 60s and 70s. Fan bases for the women's team with a new identity rooted themselves in the fabric of history and with the support of the general public the women's game led a rise in feminism that swept across the country. In 1979, the National Sports Council of Brazil passed Deliberation no. 10 reinstating the women's game. Early professional women's football club EC Radar, founded in 1982, dominated the first editions of the Taça Brasil de Futebol Feminino and served as Brazil's representation in the 1986 Mundialito and 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament. Its players also formed the majority of Brazil's roster at the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, in which Elane scored the nation's first Women's World Cup goal on 17 November 1991.

Today, the national team has won the Copa America 7 times and has made it to the world cup finals where they were beaten by Germany. While the team played its first official match in 1986, only 5 years later they won their first title in Copa America, and only 9 years after that they were challenging the world's best.

Futebol Feminino

Brazil was Latin America's first country to legally recognize futebol feminino. As the first nation to popularize the women's game it was a hard sell for many Brazilians caught up with traditional gender roles. Up until the national team started participating on the international stage. After the debut of women's association football in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta the women's game skyrocketed in admiration. In order to capitalize off of the teams commencement and fourth-place finish the State of São Paulo created Paulistana. The Paulistana was a domestic competition meant to attract young up and coming players for the national team. However, the methodology of Paulistana linked itself to the process futbol feminization. The administrators and managers who ran the competition scalped white, beautiful, and non-masculine players. An attempt to beautify the women's sport for the largely male population of futbol consumers. The 1999 World Cup golden boot winner Sissi noticed the negative effects of beautification over athletics and left for overseas competition. The introduction of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino in 2013 reinvigorated the domestic competition attracting the Brazilian stars of the national team back into the country.

2017 controversy

In 2017, the Brazilian Football Confederation fired head coach Emily Lima, which sparked protest among the team's players. The dispute evolved into an argument for greater wages, and more respect and recognition for the country's female football players. As a result, players such as Cristiane, Rosana, and Francielle announced their retirement from international football, hoping that this decision might make a difference in the years to come.