Women’s football and Corinthians show strength on an afternoon of party in Itaquera

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On Saturday afternoon (24), Brazilian women’s football gave another demonstration of growth. Less than a week after breaking the attendance record in a women’s match in the country, the mark was surpassed at the Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo, where 41,070 spectators saw Corinthians win the Brazilian Championship.

After a 1-1 draw at Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre, in the game in which the ephemeral record was established, the alvinegro team relied on the strength of its fans to beat Internacional 4-1, in Itaquera, goals from Jaqueline, Diany, Vic Albuquerque and Jheniffer –Sorriso opened the scoring. It was the fourth Brazilian title –the third in a row– for the club that has dominated the sport on the continent.

The black and white association reactivated women’s football in 2016 and already that year took the Copa do Brasil. After that, he won three times in the Campeonato Paulista (2019, 2020 and 2022), once in the recently launched Supercopa do Brasil (2022) and the aforementioned four in the Brasileiro (2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022). She was also three-time champion of the Copa Libertadores (2017, 2019 and 2021) and will seek her tetra in Ecuador, in October.

Well structured, Corinthians is an important entity in strengthening the sport – which has lasting projects, such as Ferroviária, and teams that have recently started to make greater investments, as is the case with Palmeiras and the now runner-up Inter. The assessment of all those involved in the task is that there is still a lot to improve, but the undeniable growth is cause for celebration.

“It is a unique moment. It will be marked for us, athletes. It was a beautiful party”, said the striker Millene, 27, of Inter, after the first match, seen by more than 36 thousand. “What the crowd did was absurd, absurd. Everyone who has been in this fight for the longest time dreamed of it,” added defender Bruna Benites, 36.

The celebration with full stadiums did not prevent claims. Gabi Zanotti, 37, a Corinthians star, made a point of pointing out the difference in the prize pool: the male Brazilian pays R$33 million to the champion; the winner of the women’s edition would receive R$ 290 thousand. The pressure made the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) raise the prize to R$ 1 million and promise higher numbers in the coming years.

“At a time when we talk so much about equality, nothing is fairer than looking for values ​​that will make a difference in the lives of many people”, said shirt 10. the same value as the men’s, but a value that is respectful with the modality. We understand that it has a lot more box office, they sell a lot more products in men’s football. I’m just talking about respect for the modality.”

Even Corinthians, with its success, suffers in the attempt to be in surplus. The final had a gross income of R$ 900,981, which will help in this search. However, despite all the difficulties, there are reasons to celebrate in a year of achievements for football athletes in various parts of the planet.

The most emblematic probably took place in the United States. After years of battles – including legal ones –, the players reached an agreement with US Soccer, the local federation. Now the prizes of the men’s team and those of the much more victorious women’s team are divided equally between the members of the two teams. According to a survey by The New York Times, this will yield around US$ 450,000 (R$ 2.3 million) per season for each athlete, an amount that can be doubled in a World Cup year.

Europe was another region that registered important steps in 2022, such as the late professionalization of the first division of the Italian Championship. In England, players won the right to receive 100% of their salary during maternity leave, something that benefited the great German midfielder Melanie Leupolz, 28, of Chelsea – a club that, at least publicly, treated her pregnancy with celebration.

It was also in Europe that the largest audiences were attracted. The women’s FA Cup final brought 49,094 people to London’s Wembley Stadium in May, compared with what was seen at the same venue in July. Never has a Euro Cup final – of any genre – had as many people as the women’s England 2 x 1 Germany, with 87,192 spectators in the traditional British arena.

The absolute record was set in Spain. The attendance of Barcelona 5 x 1 Wolfsburg, semi-final match of the Women’s Champions League, at Camp Nou, in Barcelona, ​​was 91,648 people.

Brazil is still far from that level, but the Brazilian finals were encouraging for those who bet on women’s football. As did the more than 41,000 who went to Itaquera to see Corinthians extend the impressive streak established in recent years.

Right away, the team hit the net with Gabi Zanotti, a bid annulled by the video referee. Internacional arrived in a sporadic corner kick and opened the scoring, in the 14th minute, with Sorriso, but the hosts did not despair and ended up imposing their superiority.

The tie was reached in the 23rd minute, in a cross by Yasmim, completed with category by Jaqueline. At 46, it was Tamires’ turn to cross and Diany to score with a header, counting on a deflection in rival Bruna Benites. At the beginning of the final stage, at two minutes, Vic Albuquerque received a pass from Gabi Portilho and finished with precision, with his right foot.

At 47, with Jaqueline, she became a rout, expanding an unprecedented party in Brazil and South America. The audience in Itaquera also broke the continent’s record, which had been set in June, in Colombia, where 37,100 spectators watched the final of the national championship, América de Cali’s victory over rival Deportivo Cali.

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