Flamengo and Meli announce sponsorship for Meninas da Gávea and the Elas Jogam project at a press conference
Through a kit for sale on Mercado Livre, women will receive a discount on football boots and a full scholarship to any of the club's schools.
By Flamengo and Mercado Livre - in
On Wednesday afternoon (16), Flamengo and Mercado Livre announced the company's new sponsorship of Flamengo's professional and youth women's soccer teams, in addition to the launch of the Elas Jogam project, to promote the sport. Present were President Rodolfo Landim, Vice President of Youth Soccer and Women's Soccer at Rubro-Negro, Vitor Zanelli, Thais Nicolau, Branding Director at Meli, and Fabiana Tamazato, Marketing Coordinator at the club. Athletes Thaisa, Rayanne and Pimenta also participated, already wearing the Manto duly printed with the new partner's brand.
"I'm very happy to have Mercado Livre partnering with Flamengo once again on another very important project. Flamengo is a club that, when it comes to competing, always goes for the win. It's important that we have support for this, and without a doubt, having a partner like Meli will greatly help us achieve our goals. The idea is very cool, which emerged from conversations we had with them about gender equality and bringing this operationally to football, not only reaching the top, but investing in the development of women's football from the grassroots level. It was a really cool move by Meli; we embraced it right away and are sure you'll like it," stated president Landim.
"Our president, Landim, gave us a very important mission, and we're working on a major project with Communications and Marketing. We're very pleased to have this partnership today to promote women's soccer at the club and in Brazil. This partnership should provide a very positive outlook for the sport in the coming years. We're very grateful to Meli for the partnership," Zanelli added.
For the next 12 months, the brand will be featured on the match and training jerseys of the main and youth teams. But the partnership goes far beyond brand exposure. Flamengo and Mercado Livre are launching the "Elas Jogam" campaign, an initiative that will encourage girls and women, ages 4 to 22, to play soccer through full scholarships, with tuition waivers for one year, at Flamengo's 69 soccer schools across 18 Brazilian states.
To secure one of the available spots, you'll need to purchase the "athlete kit," which includes a ball, a sports bag, and a squeeze bottle, for R$79. With the kit, identification, and receipt in hand, the prospective athlete's guardian must complete enrollment at one of the affiliated schools. Those over 18 who have their kits can register as usual. The addresses of participating schools and the complete regulations, with all the rules, can be found at mercadolivre.com.br/elasjogam, a website that will be live starting March 21st.
All proceeds from kit sales will be donated to the Pretas em Campo program, run by the NGO Empodera. Pretas em Campo is a sports project exclusively for teenage girls and young women, implemented in Cidade de Deus and Pedra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro. It focuses on empowerment and combating racism through a methodology that uses soccer as a tool for developing socio-emotional skills and discussing key issues.
"We're very excited to expand our partnership with Mercado Livre and Flamengo and now bring innovation to Meninas da Gávea, from the youth level to the professional level. This is fertile ground for us to support gender equality as a driver of growth, which is something Meli strongly believes in," said Thais Nicolau.
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