Pele’s daughter explains how football can change perceptions about culture
Brazilian football legend Pelé’s eldest daughter Kely Nascimento-DeLuca spoke about the role of sport in empowering societies and bridging gender gaps, at Generation Amazing Foundation’s Goal 22 programme she hosted yesterday. Addressing the session titled ‘The Untapped Power of the Beautiful Game,’ she recalled: “After my father joined the New York Cosmo Club, we moved from our home in Brazil to the US, and we discovered that not many people were aware of our culture. But the game of football allowed me to travel the world and take my culture everywhere.” Nascimento-DeLuca highlighted that in today’s day and age, with the spread of social media, it is amazing to see how sports can change the way people feel about an entire culture. During her talk, NascimentoDeLuca also touched upon the issues of gender gap, and how closing it can help in building better societies. According to her, there is a link between sustainable development and sport, and when girls participate in sports, preconceived attitudes about what a girl can do, begin to change.
For Nascimento-DeLuca, football is not just a game – it has an incredibly powerful impact on society development. Nascimento-DeLuca stated that the expectations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to be watched by about 5bn viewers around the world indicate the great responsibility of the host country to make the most of this massive event in addressing global and local problems, and to promote development through sport. “This foundation set the bar for what needs to be, I think, a blueprint to be followed by all host nations. But the question here is how will your nation leverage the power of this beautiful game to address sustainable development goals and to contribute to the fight for the survival of our planet?” Nascimento-DeLuca’s message to the youth of the Amazing Generation Foundation was to raise their voices. She said: “How wonderful it is to witness in your life the World Cup being held in Qatar and in the Middle East for the first time.
“I believe in your generation as the first truly to wholeheartedly embrace their moral compass and make decisions with it. “You represent 32 countries in the tournament, and this means that you will witness this tournament being held in your country, so, raise your voice and tell the world about this unique experience and start making the change immeasurable.”