#formiga

For me, in particular, it is difficult to find words to describe the carousel of emotions that this edition of the Olympic Games gave me, especially in women's football.

In fact, it is already difficult to talk about women's football being played in Brazil, because it was considered a crime until recently. My mother was born at a time when the country prohibited women from playing sports that were considered masculine, and today she saw, once again, the Brazilian Women's Football Team reach the podium of the most important competition in the world of sports.

Marta Vieira da Silva, the greatest player in history, ended her career wearing the famous green and yellow shirt, which in itself is already emotional, but when you remember that she was born just 3 years after women's football was discriminated against, it carries an even greater emotional burden and made me fall to my knees in tears. We are talking about just 41 years of activity in the entire country. The first edition of the Olympic Games that included women's football as a sport was in 1996, and Brazil was already competing in it, just 13 years after the ban was lifted.

We are talking about an unequal country, which was colonized, exploited and always underestimated in many aspects and whose repercussions of genocide and exploitation and all the violence that was necessary for this are still reflected in modern society. We are also talking about the only team, along with the USWNT, that has played in every edition of the Olympic Games in women's football since 1996. And there is still an even more surprising fact in all of this, this is the first edition in which Formiga (an exceptional football player who retired a few years ago, for those who don't know) does not participate. She wore our colors from 1996 until Tokyo 2020/21.

We will be the next host of a World Cup where a very promising generation of players will give their best once again and try to bring joy to their people who have often despised them, but who they still fight for and to put a smile on their lips. We have a multi-champion coach in charge who knows what women's football is and who has always lived by it and has already proven himself in the position after taking Brazil to an Olympic final after 16 years of the last one with just 10 months in charge.

Once again we will be fighting against expectations and statistics, the journey has never been easy and it won't be, but we have hope (as always) that better days will come and that the whole world will see us shine at the top, which is the place we always deserved.

After all, we are talking about Brazil, and it is no secret that our Brazilian way always stands out in some aspects and that is what charms us. As long as there are people to wear our colors and represent us in any sport, millions of people will be there to cheer and bother whoever is necessary.

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Formiga, Minas Gerais, Brazil