Palmeiras president Leila Pereira held an unprecedented press conference for female journalists to highlight the lack of women in football.
As the only female club president across Brazil’s three main divisions, Pereira admitted she “feels lonely.”
– ESPN Broadcast: LaLiga, Bundesliga, (USA)
“Having only one woman at the helm of a big club in South America is not normal,” Pereira said at the press conference.
“Why does this happen? Because we suffer from several restrictions that prevent us from getting where we can go.
“I’m not going to solve the challenge of machismo in Brazil and in the world, much less in football, but with the strength of Palmeiras we can be an example. “
More than a dozen journalists attended the two-hour press conference at the Football Academy.
Elected as the first female president of Palmeiras in 2021, Brazilian businesswoman Pereira is under pressure to make structural changes within the club itself to achieve gender equality.
Criticized for allowing female hounds at the news conference, Pereira responded, “Don’t get hysterical. “