The Museum of Football, in western São Paulo, Brazil, welcomed on Saturday 10 June the First National Meeting of Women on the Bleachers to discuss the presence of women in stadiums as well as strategies to fight sexism amongst football fans.[/intro_paragraph]

The initiative, which came about through Facebook and WhatsApp conversations, brought together 350 women from over 50 fan clubs and women's associations from 11 Brazilian states.

"I created a group with three other women to discuss women's presence in football stadium and what could be done to claim that space and the freedom to cheer for your team. That was the starting point. After that we decided to created a national event for all of those interested." said one of the organisers, Dadá Ganan, from Gaviões da Fiel, a Corinthians fan club.

The event was live streamed on Youtube and was divided into a series of debates on female empowerment, how to address a machismo culture present in society and football stadiums and sessions on proposals to help female fans claim their space.

"We're fighting really hard against sexism, against the prohibitions still in force for women, the abuse. Many girls have gained a lot of space, so they're going to tell us how they did it. We plan to release a documentary with some of the proposals for addressing this," explained Dadá.