Emily Lima slams Corinthians kick-off time, wants more women's football | OneFootball

Corinthians are through to the final of the Brazilian Women’s Championship. Last Monday, the Brabas beat Bahia 1-0 and secured their place in the competition’s final. After the match, head coach Emily Lima used the interview to comment on some of the challenges that still surround women’s football in the country.

One of the points raised by the coach was the time chosen for the match. The game took place at 9:30 p.m. on a Monday, a situation that, in Emily’s view, shows that the sport still needs to gain more space and exposure. For her, there is an ongoing effort to show the public and those responsible for organizing the competitions the potential of women’s football.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel / Agência Corinthians

“It’s all about exposure. Everyone here today knows it’s not ideal to play at this time. What we still have to do in women’s football is convince people, keep convincing them all the time, that this is an interesting product, that this is a good product. The World Cup will show that clearly, how Brazilians are enjoying women’s football more and more. Corinthians’ fans have already shown several times how important they understand women’s football to be,” she said.

Emily also explained that there is concern about how the sport’s difficulties are publicly exposed. According to the Corinthians coach, statements from players, coaching staff members, or directors about certain problems can end up bringing consequences for those involved.

In the coach’s view, the way forward is to stay focused on on-field performance and, at the same time, take these demands to the spaces for discussion between clubs and those responsible for organizing women’s football.

“Talking about the issue is complicated, because if I speak, I think it will only hurt us. If the players speak, it will only hurt us and them. If the director speaks, it will only bring losses. Do you understand that we have to be smarter than that? So I tell them, speaking out just to expose it won’t change anything, and we’ll be exposing ourselves all the time. Women’s football no longer has to expose anything. We have to come in, do our job, and make them understand in technical meetings that they need to help us a little,” she stated.

At another point in the interview, Emily acknowledged the effort made by clubs to maintain their women’s teams and defended collective participation in the sport’s growth process. For the coach, bigger crowds in the stadiums can represent not only greater visibility, but also an opportunity to generate revenue for the teams themselves.

“So, we’ve been evolving, the clubs have been making a huge effort to have women’s football, but everyone also has to make an effort. Because if you get 30,000 or 40,000 here today, that’s a positive thing for Corinthians. It’s revenue for Corinthians. So if it’s about helping, then let’s all help, not just one side. We’ve really been stressing that point, in the sense of being together to do a good job, play a good role, project a good image, keep projecting a good image to the fans, and then later, on the technical side, let those up top fight a little harder,” she concluded.

On the field, Corinthians reach the final after winning both semifinal matches. Now, the Brabas will face São Paulo in the title decider. Their rival secured the other spot in the final after eliminating Flamengo. The first leg of the final is scheduled for this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Neo Química Arena.

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