Favelas, Faith, Formiga

Lais Araujo, Brazil

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football journey?

My name is Lais Araujo, I am 27 years old. As far as I can remember, I have been involved in football. I do not hold a single memory of my life without football. I grew up in a family of six girls, I am the fifth daughter and the only one who ended up playing football. I grew up playing with one of my cousins who is the same age as I am, so it was like he was my brother. We would play on the streets of my community/favela for hours. My only and favourite activity was playing football with him. Even when we would go to the beach we played beach soccer with coconuts as goals. 

On Saturdays I would also follow my dad to his pick up games and play on the sideline while he was on the pitch with his friends. My goal at that point was just being able to play on that big clay football field. I could not imagine myself as a professional footballer playing all around the world as I am right now. I was so young and just felt so happy when my dad’s friends would tell him that I was going to be a footballer one day. I would just show off skills and try to prove to him I could play with them when I grew a bit more.

My football journey has had loads of ups and downs, just like any other girl’s journey in this world. Lots of challenges and growth which I try my best to navigate through and learn from. I believe that what has made my journey a bit special is the fact that I came from and I was made in a favela. I had to play with boys until I was about 16 years old. On the streets I learned so much of what I know about the ball and I carry these lessons until today. 

On that same clay football field where my dad and his friends used to play, I was found by Wilson Egidio, who is the founder of The Wilson’s Favela Project. The only girl playing with the boys, it was like I was the attraction. The project helped me get a full athletic scholarship at a junior college in NYC, and that is how it started. From there, I got a full scholarship to go to the University of Florida. And finally, my biggest dream came true, I became a professional footballer. From the USA to Norway, Australia, and Cyprus. Then to my second big dream - the Brazilian national team. From playing with Marta and Formiga to Spain, to Portugal with FC Famalicao and now SL Benfica.

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?

These photos were taken from all around the globe. I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world through soccer. In the year of 2019 alone, I travelled through the continents of North and South America, Europe, and Australia. These photos have been taken during key moments of my short career, highlighted by moments such as my first national team camp, back home in Brazil playing football in front of my house with my neighbours, and playing the first national tournament final in my career here in Portugal. Some photos are of friends of mine in happy moments, friends I made all around the world and whom I will never forget.

I tried to show special moments I experienced on my journey through football. One photo is of training during Covid. The Covid period was extremely challenging for me since I did not have a contract. At the end of my season in Australia, I had to head home and wait for a new opportunity, and it took about five months of online remote training in the favela. I had to adapt all my home training and the “outdoor” training, while wondering what my life was going to be like. I had to adapt to training on the small streets in front of my house, realizing I was no longer a street soccer player, trying to cope with the kids acting like I was simply playing football for fun, the water tankers passing up and down, and having no weights for lifting so my cousins had to make concrete weights for me. Overall it was a big challenge for me to keep a professional mindset, but looking back now I realize how well I did at coping with it all.

One photo is Marta, Formiga and I. Just writing this is mindblowing to me because these are the players I have always looked up to when I grew up. One of my career top goals was to make it to the Brazilian National Team, and I always wanted to play with them both. They are legends not only of Brazilian football but also of the world of women’s football. I am so grateful for all they have done for my generation and the photo helps to remind me that I worked tirelessly for my dream to manifest. 

Formiga is an example of what it is like to be a winning warrior on and off the pitch. She is the biggest living example of “resilience”. Marta is simply so inexplicable, her existence is probably what represents Brazil in the most inspirational way possible. Passing the ball to them is probably the best memory I will have in my football career for a long, long time. That is how much respect and admiration I have for them.

The photo was taken at my first Brazilian National Team training camp. It was a dream coming true. Every time I look at that photo, I think “I MADE IT!” “I PASSED THE BALL TO MARTA AND FORMIGA!” It was one of my dreams to play with them. Even though it was not an official match, I think that I made it, for me, for my mom, for my family, for my friends, my favela. These people would tell me “one day I want to see you play with Marta and Formiga”. It is incredible to think about, because I was just a girl in the favela watching them on the TV, dreaming, and training so hard. 

So many times I had pushed myself so hard saying the words Marta once said on TV, “Cry in the beginning, so you can smile in the end”. I used to tell myself “you will play with Marta”, and yes, I DID IT!

There is a photo of me kissing the Brazilian National Team crest with a lot of pride. Since I was little, when I saw Marta play for the first time on the TV, I have dreamt of playing for my national team. It was really difficult to be seen where I came from, so when I had the opportunity to leave at the age of 18 to the United States, I did not let that opportunity slip away. My dream was always in the back of my mind and it took so much dedication, patience, growth, resilience, discipline and faith for me to get there… 

It was definitely one of the best days of my life when I saw my name on that national team list. This photo does not only show an extremely proud Lais, it shows a dreamer, a big believer that God can do it all. It shows a humble girl from a favela that only needed an opportunity, and she took it. She made it through her tears, sweats, and loneliness sometimes. But she also made it through faith, hard work and with good people around her to help her realize good things take time. A girl born and raised in the favela, made to play football.

What were some of your experiences playing in Europe?

The photos at the FC Barcelona women’s football stadium, Estadi Johan Cruyff, are meaningful to me because FC Barcelona has been the club of my heart since I was very little. I am a big fan of Ronaldinho and I grew up watching him play on the TV with the Brazilian National Team and watching highlights videos of him playing for Barcelona. He has always been my inspiration and he had a big impact on the style of football I wanted to play, the beautiful way, dancing on the ball. So I have been a Barca fan for a long time. 

When I stepped onto the FC Barcelona football ground I felt like I was closer to my dream. In 2019, in my first year as a professional, almost every game I stepped onto the field with something I called “Barca mentality”. I would tell myself “I am playing this game as if a Barca scout was here!” I would pick a random guy in the stands and say to myself “That is the guy, he wants to see me!”. So when I moved to Madrid CFF, my goal was to reach Barca. That game was the semifinals of Copa de La Reina. I only ended up playing a few minutes, but it is a moment I am never going to forget. In the warm up, I made sure I picked up a ball and had a moment for myself, the feeling of the fans arriving in the stadium and watching me doing tricks with the ball. For that moment I felt like nothing else mattered, belonging, manifesting…

There are also photos taken during a girls youth national camp/tournament at the first club I played for, Arna Bjornar, in Norway. I was impressed by the amount of young girls that play soccer in Norway. One of the youth national team’s coaches was present to evaluate some girls and give them the opportunity to represent their national team. They were seen. It made me feel hopeful for the future of girls’ football in the world. We are just creating a U15 National Team in Brazil now, in 2023…

I never had this possibility. These girls watched our match and we felt like all they wanted was to be on that pitch. Some of them came on the pitch at the beginning of the match and I held this little girl’s hand and said “one day it will be you playing here, believe it!” That gave me purpose. 

Another time our B team was playing on the field right in front of the house I lived in. The young girls showed up to support the B team players even though it was raining and there was no roofing around the field. They stayed until the last whistle. Admirable.

We always tried to spend some time with the youth after their training to give signatures, show support, and encourage them. I personally love these moments because I never really had them. I grew up in a boy’s soccer environment, so for me it is amazing to see the girls and be able to mean something to them just by being there, signing, giving them a hug. It is a chance to be a good example, to show them and say to them that it is possible. To show them that women's football is a reality, they can do it too, that one day it will be them in my place. The possibility for them gives me joy.

What is your favourite photo? Why?

I captured my two cousins and friends making a ‘golzinho’ from scratch for us to play street soccer. This is the essence of who I am. We used to make them when we were younger to have fun. Sometimes, we would want to play on the little clay field we had close by, but the older guys were there and would not let us join, so we would gather and make our own goals and play on the asphalt. 

You can see younger kids are playing with their own, smaller goals as well. It was also a moment of teamwork for us. My cousin and my brother-in-law are making the bases of the goal with wood, cutting it with a wood cutter machine, and measuring the size of it. Then we put the wood support behind the goal and covered it with a canvas so the ball does not go far away after we score goals. We always play barefoot. You can see it all, dogs around, the boys playing in front of my house, our ‘viela’, which means a dead end street. That is how I grew up in the favela of Rua Sao Benedito de Pau da Lima, in Salvador, Bahia. A ‘golzinho’ and a ball was all I needed to dream of becoming what I am today.

Are there any good stories connected with the people you photographed?

I met some special people in Australia. At the time I arrived there, I had been away from Brazil for three years, so I was missing my home country very much. The culture, the food, everything about it. I had spent two years in the USA and went straight from there to Norway. So I did not have time to go see my family and visit Brazil during that time. When I found out that Australia was my next step, I posted on a Facebook page called “Brazillians in Adelaide”, inviting whoever wished to come to see me play my first match in Adelaide. 

Surprisingly, so many people responded to my post. Some came and even brought a Brazilian flag, and that made my heart smile. I realized that these people were also in need of a connection and football can do that in beautiful ways. Football connected us and I even spent Christmas at one of their houses. I felt like I had a family away from home. I made great friendships in Australia, and I am so grateful for what they did for me by inviting me to spend Christmas with them.

I also shared a moment from a bike trail on a day off in Adelaide with two good friends Evandro and Amelia. Amelia is a mom and had many health problems. She left Brazil to live in Australia after she retired from working in a university in Brazil. She wanted to learn English in Australia and decided to go for an adventure. She is a beautiful human. She was always so adventurous and full of life, smiley and just had such a good energy. She introduced me to Evandro (her roommate) and many other Brazilians in Adelaide. Everyone knows her because she is so full of light and energy! 

At the time, she had just learned how to bike and loved it. Even though she would fall sometimes, she would get up and go again with a smile on her face. On that day, we were heading to Botanic Park from her home. She said it was a 30 minute ride and it took us over an hour, so we needed to take breaks on the way. It was a great time, we went slow, chatting and laughing. A very nice experience with amazing souls.

Which was your favourite country to play in?

I have played football in Brazil, the USA (at college level), Norway, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal. In 2019, I literally did 360 degrees around the world, which was cool, but also exhausting. I loved playing and living in the USA, and I feel like today I have more understanding of what it is like to have the opportunity to play in America. I feel like it gave me so many different perspectives of and about the world, and that things are so possible. There was a shift in my mentality. I felt like everything I needed, I had there for me. All I needed to do was work hard and I would achieve it. And I am a hard worker, so it was a good match. I never played in the NWSL, but it is also a goal of mine because I like the competitiveness of the league there. 

What are the opportunities for women's players in Brazil? How does it compare to other places you have played?

The opportunities for women's players in Brazil are definitely better than when I left. There are still things to improve, but honestly, in terms of working conditions in the big clubs, it might be better than some of the clubs I have played in Europe. I left Brazil because I knew that from where I came, it would be so difficult for me to become a professional. I could not see myself as a professional footballer at the time. 

Today, there are youth national leagues, clubs are embracing women’s football, girls are showing up to play, talents are being developed, they are broadcasting games on television, fans are showing up and bringing their kids to watch games on the big stadiums. These things were so hard during my youth. It is becoming natural today in Brazil, it is massively growing. Thanks to God and all the women who have paved the way. 

I feel like Brazil is going to reap the rewards of all this investment sooner than later, it is a matter of time. I believe that because today they are showing role models on the TV and on social media. More girls want to play and they can now see that football can be a profession. Kids want to be what they see, and what they get inspired to be. In Spain, Australia, and the USA, they have seen it for a long time, and look at what these countries have achieved now.

I believe that good things are underway, the people in charge just need to make sure that there is lots of commitment and effort during the whole process, not only when there is a World Cup and Olympics. Girls need to feel confident and comfortable with the opportunity to play, like the boys do. 

In these other countries, girls play because they know they have the opportunity to be what they want. In Brazil, for a long time, we did not know if we could. These countries have been providing what players needed. Opportunity. In Brazil, it is underway…

What ambitions do you have for the future?

My ambitions for the future are to continue to grow as a player and as a person. It has been a long journey, but an enjoyable one. So far, I have achieved so many of the goals I have set for my life. I wanted to make it to the National Team. I have not come back for a debut with Brazil yet, so it has been a goal of mine since then. I am working hard for it to happen. My biggest ambition is to go to an Olympics one day. I am now playing for SL Benfica and I feel like if I keep pushing at this competitive high level, it may manifest sooner than later. Right now, I am focused on representing SL Benfica in the best way possible and let my faith lead the rest - it has never failed me.

What do you think the future looks like for football in your community? Why might the future be hopeful? What would you like to change? 

There are some awesome people working in my community to provide opportunities for girls to get involved in football. Recently the project that found me in Sao Marcos has just become an official football club called Camaçariense, and they had a girls tryout day for the first time, but not everyone knows. They are active on social media, so I tried to share it on my Instagram page and help expand it. 

We Brazilians ALWAYS have hope. We are well-known as “the country that never gives up”. I would like that we had more opportunities as a whole, not only in football, but through football many things can be done. There is so much impact through sports. I wish more kids were exposed to sports in the favelas because there is so much talent. All I needed was an opportunity, and I had it because someone from the USA came and saw light in me.