Kicking goals: Girls, football and gearing up for the FIFA World Cup

With less than three months until the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off, we shine a light on a young woman from Brazil who found inspiration through football, and turned her life around.

When Beatriz turned 14 she went through a dark patch. “I just wanted to be out on the streets or at parties. Then, I started doing drugs,” she says.
Beatriz didn’t know where her life was heading, so when she heard about Plan’s Empowering Girls Through Football program, she saw it as an opportunity to make a change and learn about her rights. “Had I continued with that lifestyle, where would I be today?” she asks.

The program works with girls in the community to enable them to fight for their rights through participation, learning, team work and self-esteem. Beatriz has enjoyed taking part in the program and has gone on to inspire change in her community by becoming a Plan volunteer. Now she’s looking forward to the World Cup in Brazil later this year.

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