Women's World Cup

visa

For 40 years, women’s football was banned by law in Brazil. A mistake from the past that still affects the sport today. Visa chose to help repair this historical injustice using a powerful tool: visibility. #ChooseToPlayWithThem is a movement that invited everyone to follow the 2023 Women’s World Cup, turning a sponsorship into a platform that revisited the history of women’s football and got Brazil to play alongside them.

We created a series of posters inspired by newspaper and magazine clippings from the time the ban was in effect. These posters featured inspiring stories and facts about women’s football. They were used throughout the campaign and displayed in the Visa VIP area during the game screenings.

We brought to the Women’s World Cup one of Brazil’s biggest Men’s World Cup traditions: painting the streets. And it made some noise in the Brazilian press.

And to give even more visibility to the Women’s World Cup — which still doesn’t receive the same investment as the men’s — we brought the games to the fans through a mobile truck that broadcast the matches live in major cities across Brazil.

On social media, in addition to the campaign, we told the story of Iracema Ferreira “Rata” arguably the best defender in Brazil in the 80s. She experienced prejudice firsthand and, because of football, was kicked out of her home by her own father — he didn’t want any “tomboys” in his house. An injury kept her out of the 1991 World Cup, so Visa finally gave her the chance to attend her first one, bringing her to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.