The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, hosted the women’s football team at the Belém Palace this Friday to celebrate the qualification to the World Cup. It should be noted that Portugal qualified for the World Cup in this category for the first time, which the head of state called “an achievement for all Portuguese women.”
“What they have achieved is an honor for Portugal,” the President emphasized throughout his speech. “Although we are going through a period of mourning for the war in Ukraine, [vocês] came to please. They are a ray of sunshine amid such sadness,” he said.
Marcelo took the opportunity to highlight the achievements of women in the country, explaining that the victory of the players is an achievement not only for football, but for the entire women’s community. “[Este feito] changes the role of women in Portuguese society,” he said.
“I’m from a time when discrimination against women was seen in the most basic way, talking about women’s football at that time, talking about fantasy. Today, thanks to you who have come a long way, it exists,” the President emphasized. .
Marcelo Rebelo de Souza did not fail to cheer up the Portuguese for the next games. “They dreamed that they could reach [ao Mundial]now they have to dream about getting as far as possible,” he said.
The Portugal women’s football team beat Cameroon 2-1 this Wednesday to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
The final stage of the competition takes place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.