Girls football in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with Favela Street

In Pavão-Pavãozinho and Cantagalo, the favelas above Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, football is everywhere. Yet a girl who wants to play has nowhere to go: there is no team, no coach and no time when the pitch belongs to her.

That is why EduMais and Favela Street are starting Every Girl Can Lead the Street in 2027: a girls football program in Rio de Janeiro. Girls aged 14 to 20 come together to play street football, and through the game they build confidence, resilience and leadership, and find their way to education.

We don’t look at girls from what they lack. The talent is there. What is missing is the space to show it.

Favela Street is a foundation based in Amsterdam that began as a street football initiative in Rio de Janeiro. Today it works in cities across the Netherlands and in Curaçao with girls aged 14 and over who face social exclusion. Street football is the way in; from there, girls work on self-awareness, resilience, leadership and their future, so they become role models in their own neighbourhood. Former Dutch professional footballer Lieke Martens is a Favela Street ambassador.

With this partnership, Favela Street brings its experience back to the city where it all began. Favela Street trains our local coaches and shares its tested methodology. EduMais knows the communities, the girls and their families, and links the program to our education programs.

• The need comes from the community. We see every day that girls want to play sport but have no place to do so.
• A proven approach. Favela Street’s methodology grew out of practice and is grounded in research, including growth mindset and self-determination theory.
• Local role models. Our coaches are young women from the EduMais network, including former students who are now coordinators.
• Knowledge stays in Brazil. The coaches learn to run groups on their own and to train new colleagues.

The program for the girls is called Future Leading Player. It runs for twenty weeks, with two sessions a week: a sports workshop and a leadership workshop that uses sport. We share a meal at every session. The program has three phases:

• Play. The girls get to know each other and become a team. They learn to work together and handle conflict.
• Create. Each girl discovers her strengths, sets personal goals and builds her own story. Every group organises its first community tournament.
• Shine. The girls share their stories with the community and explore entrepreneurial thinking. Each group ends with a Shine Event of 4×4 street football and storytelling, and every girl receives a certificate.

Our coaches follow Favela Street’s Future Leading Coach program, with modules on personal leadership, coaching and working with other organisations in the neighbourhood.

• 50 girls complete the program, in two groups of 25.
• A local coaching team of at least four trained Future Leading Coaches and four assistant coaches.
• Four community events with street football and storytelling, reaching at least 250 girls.
• A program rooted locally, translated and adapted to our communities, so EduMais can start new groups every year.

The program builds up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil, with Rio as a host city. The girls’ Shine Events take place as the tournament begins, so they are seen at the moment all of Brazil is watching women’s football. And the place they have made for themselves stays after the tournament.

A girl comes for the sport, builds trust and sets a personal goal with her coach. Together they then look at which EduMais program fits that goal, such as English or Serious Game Design. That step is voluntary.

Where: on the covered pitch at Brisolão in Pavão-Pavãozinho, and together with our partner O Parque Nosso in Complexo da Penha.

Safety first: every coach signs the EduMais Child Protection Code of Conduct and follows our safety protocol. Parents and carers give consent and know the coaches, and at least two coaches are present at every session.

Support girls football in Rio de Janeiro

Your support pays for coach training, sports equipment, the shared meals and the community events. Give a donation, or partner with us as a company or foundation.

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