Mapping the margins of women’s football in Brazil: an intersectional gaze at the experiences and barriers to practicing this sport

The objective of this article was to analyze, in an intersectional way, the profile and experience of women’s participation in football in Brazil. We carried out a comparative analysis between women, based on data from the 2015 PNAD (IBGE, 2017). The data were treated with descriptive statistics. It is precisely black, poor, young, less educated women who engage in football, which contrasts with the opposite profile who engages in physical activities. The experience of these women is marked by a competitive emphasis, in public or free spaces for participatory football practice. These results highlight the importance of observing how social divides hinder access to football and public policies to democratize it.