Women's Football
Women's Football is not as popular in Brazil as men's football, although it has increased in popularity in the 2000s.
Due to strong and continuing social stigma, Brazilian society only minimally supports women's football. There is a sexist belief that football is not a sport for women. The country lacks a national women's league, and runs only state competitions because there is limited financial interest and support. The national league Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino ran for a year and was cancelled. The Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino was first played in 2007.
The best players, such as Marta and Cristiane, were accidentally discovered and directly invited to play on the Brazil women's national football team. In recent years, the national team contested the World Cup finals and Olympics gold medals, increasing the popularity of TV broadcasts of those tournaments. However, this was not sufficient to stimulate the footballing culture among women who prefer to support men's football over women's. Brazil has developed a major rivalry with the United States women's national soccer team.
Read more about this topic: Football In Brazil
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