Coach highlights Benfica captain’s role in national team: “Reference” | OneFootball

Francisco Neto, head coach of Portugal’s women’s national team, admitted that the team has been growing in recent years. While attending a media event, the national coach highlighted the new generations and how some players, such as Kika Nazareth — who won the Champions League — and Carole Costa, one of Benfica’s captains, are role models for young girls.

“We are clearly growing. Over the last few years, we have been growing in the number of fans, the number of players, and in the competitive way our teams perform on the international stage. That is important for us. We know this is a sport that has grown a lot over the last 10 years, and we also know that sometimes the pace is not as fast as we would like,” he began by saying on the sidelines of the ECO Festival, where he was a speaker.

“And when we cannot run, we have to walk; and when we cannot walk, we have to crawl. That is what we have been doing. What we can never do is stop, and I think women’s football has not stopped. We are going to start running again,” added Francisco Neto, stressing the importance of progress in Portugal.

“It is something that pleases us immensely. For us, it is important to share experiences and also for people to understand and demystify a little what female leadership is, as well as the importance and growth of what has been done in this sport. That is why it is with great pleasure and great honour that we are here,” acknowledged the national coach.

“Women’s football has made important progress in recent decades, especially in terms of representation and social recognition. Twenty years ago, women who played football had no role models. They said they wanted to be Figo or Baía, and now we have Jéssica Silva, Kika Nazareth and Carole Costa serving as role models for the new generations,” Francisco Neto stressed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.