Crossing paths: the narratives of women athletes about amateur and professional football in Brazil

Abstract

Amateurism and professionalism in sports are related to the intentions of the practice, the first being aimed at the leisure perspective and the second, the work perspective. However, it is important to emphasize that the difference between these concepts is tenuous, and they cannot be considered rigid divisions. In an attempt to understand this situation in a specific modality, the present study sought to analyze how the scenario of Brazilian women's football is portrayed by women who currently practice the modality on an amateur basis, but who in the past have already acted in a professional context. To answer this question, information present in the laws that regulate sport in the country and the speeches of athletes obtained through interviews, based on the methodology of Oral History, were crossed. It was noticed that professionalism and amateurism in Brazilian women's football are mixed and that, rarely, what is built in theory becomes effective in practice. This can be evidenced because athletes considered professionals are often unable to dedicate themselves exclusively to the modality, due to the low remuneration and because athletes with amateur interests are often invited to participate in professional competitions.