Formiga: ‘What we hope and wish for is to have 100% respect’

The end of Formiga’s career is in sight but her battle will not be over then. The 43-year-old is the only player (male or female) to have played in seven World Cups and seven Olympics and while she is still playing club football for São Paulo she is also aware that there is a job to be done once she stops playing.

Formiga is known as the indefatigable player of Brazilian women’s football. She has always talked about her commitment to the sport and how she has taken care of herself to enjoy such longevity on the pitch. Now, though, her voice is starting to become as prominent as her game.

“I was always really reserved,” she tells the Guardian before revealing that for every year that passed she became more and more aware of the importance of what she represented as a black, lesbian footballer. “We now have the freedom and respect of people who admire our work – and that gives me the confidence to speak up.”

Formiga has suffered prejudice throughout her career and that has made her wary of public attention. But with growing support towards women’s football, she feels that the world is now a safer space to share pictures and videos of herself and her wife, Erica, and to talk about her race and sexuality to the media.

By doing so, she hopes to inspire others. “I believe there are girls that may still be afraid to come out,” she says. “When we show our lives to people, we can also inspire a family member to think differently, and that they can accept their children the way they are. What we really hope and wish for is to have 100% respect. That we can go anywhere without prejudice, to restaurants and cinemas, that we can be seen with good eyes, because like it or not, we’re doing good for each other.”

For most of her life