Vasco, Sport and Bahia compete for the CONAFUT award

Between the 22nd and 23rd of this month, at Espaço Fit, in São Paulo, the sixth edition of CONAFUT, the National Football Conference, will take place. This year, as a way of celebrating and recognizing the importance of off-field actions, the congress will award the title of best diversity and inclusion program in Brazilian football. Three expressive national clubs – Vasco, Sport and Bahia – are in the running to receive the certificate.

The choice of category title will be evaluated based on the actions carried out by the teams in 2022. Sport launched several campaigns focused on the social sphere in the previous year. Among the various activations of the team from Pernambuco are: Ilha Plural, Mother’s Day at Leão, free games for People with Disabilities (PCDs) and the arrival of the Somar clinic – a reference in the treatment of autism – to Ilha do Retiro.

“We have been working very hard in this fight against prejudice, with the implementation of processes and practices at the club. It is, therefore, a source of great pride for us to be competing for the award, which I believe is also a recognition of what we have accomplished. We know that we can do even more, but I believe we are on the right path”, said Roberta Negrini, Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity at Sport.

Honoring the extensive past of social struggles, Vasco is among the contenders for the title of the most inclusive club in the country. Last season, the Cruzmaltino team carried out some actions with an emphasis on minorities and people in situations of social vulnerability.

Daniel Ramalho/Vasco

In addition to the launch of the “Love is Love” shirt in honor of LGBTQIAP+ Pride Day, the team from Rio entered the field with fireworks in the colors of the diversity flag against Operário-PR, for the Brazilian Series B Championship. also promoted an action in favor of acknowledging paternity by playing with “XXXXX” in place of the space intended for names on the shirt.

Bahia, which closes the list of potential award winners, also presents a series of social campaigns in 2022. Tricolor used social media to publish messages against prejudice on International LGBT Pride Day and presented the “Seal of Diversity “, which only entities that are committed to overcoming all forms of discrimination in the labor market receive.

Another action exhibited by the club from Bahia was the “Solidarity Supporter”, launched in the match against Guarani in Série B. In partnership with the José Silveira Foundation, the two-time Brazilian champion collected food for patients suffering from tuberculosis. With collection points spread around Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador, the team sent several non-perishable foods, such as beans, sugar, flour, rice, pasta, biscuits and oil, to the Brazilian Institute for Tuberculosis Investigation.

To define the winner, CONAFUT divided the voting into three categories: popular participation via the website, congress members and specialists chosen by the organization. With more than 20 hours of event, seven other awards take place at the venue: CEO; marketing executive; financial executive; football executive; women’s soccer project; technical committee; performance analysis department.