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Lil’ Brazil – a breakthrough for girl’s soccer

By Natasha Cooper

 MELBOURNE - They call their soccer team Lil’ Brazil, they dream of one day making it to Rio to meet their football idols but for now its Melbourne.

The girls of Lil’ Brazil come from Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Lebanon and even further across the globe, Malaya. But they proudly wear the green and gold colours of the Brazilian team strip in their matches around Melbournes’s northern suburbs.

The team is the brainchild of Hala Abdelnour of the Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre (SMRC) in Preston and Coordinator of a leadership group called the Ethnic Youth Council (EYC).

Hala became aware of the need for a female soccer team back in 2006 when she observed a large number of girls keenly watching a youth football tournament, mainly comprising all-male players.

“You just can’t ignore that sort of demand,” said Hala. “Soccer is my favourite sport and I see how powerful it can be in initiating social change.”

It was also Hala’s self-confessed obsession with Brazilian soccer stars that led to the name Lil’ Brazil. The team came together in May last year for their first game at the Merrilands Community Centre and now there are 15 young women who are regularly engaged in the program, open to anyone aged more than 12 years.

Hala played soccer all through school, played in an indoor leage in Box Hill and still plays once a week with friends, recognising its ability to bring people together and have lots of fun at the same time.
 
Every Friday night Hala hires a bus from the aged team at the SMRC to pick up the girls from their homes dotted around the North before a two hour training session, after which she drives them all back.
 
The team struggles to maintain structure and the only way it continues to run is through financial support from the SMRC and the Darebin Council which provides equipment and additional financial backing.
 
“It’s great that Hala can pick us up and drop us off, otherwise we couldn’t go to training”, says Tiam, 13, whose cousin Laila is also on the team.
 
 
Initially,  Friday night was the only time available for the team to train, which raised  potential problems as Friday night for teenage girls is usually reserved for movies or parties.
 
However, the girls requested this time slot continue, a testimony to the program forming a large part of their social as well as recreational activities.
 
“My parents are really happy that I’m doing something fun and healthy and that I enjoy”, says 13-year-old Esra, who hugs and kisses everyone as she gets off the bus at her home.
 
Though playing soccer was the initial drawcard of Lil’ Brazil, the girls are also seeking an alternative outlet from the pressures of teenage life.
 
The team brings them together and provides a peer support system for girls who may have limited freedom or confidence to discuss problems they may be having.
 
“It’s taught us to open up more”, says the 15-year-old vice captain Jamillah, “and learn what it takes to be part of a team where leadership skills and confidence are encouraged”.
 
They are all of an age where self-esteem and inactivity are major issues.
 
The Victorian government recently responded to a fund-raising effort with further financial assistance which Hala and her assistant coach, Christina Psyllos, used for a body image and healthy eating course for the girls.
 
“It acts as a little youth group forum for them”, says Christina, 24, a banker who finds  the Friday training sessions and tournament games “stimulating.”
 
A Lil’ Brazil player agreed. “If I didn’t come to this soccer program I wouldn’t be doing anything else with my time”, says Sara, 14, highlighting the importance the team has in the day-to-day lives of ther players.
 
Anyone watching a recent tournament at the Darebin International Sports Centre, would have seen the girls on the field playing as hard and fearlessly as any men’s side. The girls from Lil’ Brazil yell a lot, there is no nastiness on the field.
 
Najma, 13, is the newest member and though one of the quieter girls, has quickly been integrated into the group. She speaks softly but articulately of how Hala let her join the squad early instead of waiting until next year – “everyone’s really nice”.
 
“We are like a big family,” says the team’s captain, 15-years-old Vevean. “I really look forward to training…in fact it would be good to train twice a week”.
 
“Through this program I can meet new people and make new friends”, adds Dalal, aged 15.
 
Once a sport kept professionally for men, women’s soccer is growing by about ten per cent each year in Australia, a steady rate which should see the expansion of women’s soccer teams like Lil’ Brazil receiving more regular funding.
 
“I’d really like to play in a professional league one day and this program can help me get there. We also get the opportunity to train as referees and coaches which is great!” says Vevean.
 
 
Lil’ Brazil took home third place at its last tournament outing and like all good team players, everyone is keen to better their performance.
 
No longer bound to the sidelines, the Lil’ Brazil girls have become part of a program that is a tremendous boost to their self-esteem.