THE FIRST WOMEN'S WORLD CUP IN CHINA

The World Cup took place in China, in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangzhou province – the country's third largest city. Held in June of that year, the event was attended by 12 countries from all the continental confederations.

The lack of support was such that the athletes competed in the tournament wearing the men's team kit. They had to make adjustments themselves to improve the fit. As if that were not enough, each player washed her own uniform in the showers, and used improvised shin pads made of cardboard.

REAL-TIME COVERAGE BY A BRAZILIAN

Coverage of the tournament for the Brazilian press was entrusted to Claudia Silva, a 22-year-old journalism student and at the time a trainee at Jornal dos Sports. She was the only Brazilian reporter to accompany the women's team in the World Cup. Her trip was not without problems, and her visa was not issued until the day of the trip. It is thanks to her persistence that today we have records of the birth of the Brazilian Team.

Articles were sent by telex, an even greater challenge due to the keyboard format being different from the one used in Brazil. At low operating costs, the editorial staff of Jornal dos Sports would call the hotel, at between 4 and 5 am in China, and Claudia would rush to type the text. No photos were sent. The records produced were made with her own equipment and published upon her return. The newspaper provided only a certain amount of film, but the reporter purchased extra material and paid for the enlargements.

THE CHINESE SUMMER

With extremely high temperatures and abundant rain, the Chinese summer was the first adversary for the Brazilian delegation. The weather caused the games and training sessions to take place in the late afternoon. Claudia says that the hotel where the group stayed was located in front of the Pearl River, the third largest in the country. The sensation of heat was even greater due to the warming of the air mass caused by the hot weather.

Still in the group phase, the Brazilian team played against Norway. Besides the fact that the Europeans had been undefeated for 28 games, they were also very well equipped. Defender Suzana says that, while the Norwegians had individual first aid kits, the Brazilians didn't even have medication. Despite that, the encounter was won by Brazil by 2-1, with goals from Roseli and Michael Jackson. Claudia Silva highlighted the defense as a strong point, with a great performance by defender Marisa.

SEMI-FINAL

"The Brazilian women's football team lost their chance to play in the final of the World Cup when they were defeated 2-1 by Norway. The team entered the field with two players out of action and improvised in several positions. Despite this, there was no lack of spirit". [...] “The match was considered the best of the tournament by the press. The Brazilian team will play for third place against the host country, China, which lost to Sweden 2-1", wrote Claudia in the Jornal dos Sports.

CULTURAL INTERACTION

One of the highlights of this World Cup was the receptiveness shown by Chinese fans towards the Brazilian women. The enchantment around the Seleção was due as much to the football played as to the skin tone of the athletes. According to the journalist, they were not used to the presence of black people. It is worth mentioning that, during the period of the tournament, the soap opera "A Escrava Isaura" [Isaura the Slave], broadcast by TV Globo, was a hit in China.

THE CHAMPIONS
 
In the first round of the World Cup, Norway had two wins: against Thailand and Australia. Its only setback was against the Brazilian Seleção. In the final phases, it eliminated the USA in the quarter-finals and Brazil in the semi-finals. They were crowned champions in a game against Sweden, which they won 1-0.

"The preparation, the opportunity, the political issues, everything about that trip marked my whole life. First I understood that Women's Football should be taken seriously, with prepared, recognised and fairly paid professionals. Then I saw how other countries were getting the best out of their talents. I saw the difficulties and the will of these girls who changed the history of the sport in Brazil. And we owe to them the seed of what we have today. Long live the pioneers!" – Claudia Silva Jacobs.