Activists Around the World: Marta

Today, we spotlight the record-breaking and inspiring career of soccer player Marta Vieira da Silva, better known as Marta.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
And Samantha.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
And welcome to Stuff I Never Told You, a production
of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
And for today's activists around the world, today we're highlighting
Marta Vieira da Silva, or better known as Marta.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
She just goes by Marta.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
A Brazilian soccer player who, until recently, held the all-time
top score for a FIFA World Cup final. I mean,
until this year, literally. So she does still hold the
highest record for score in Women's FIFA World Cup finals.
And Marta is a legend in the soccer world, learning
to play soccer in the streets of Brazil and being

(00:48):
discovered at the age of 14. She started playing professionally
for Vasco da Gama in 2000. And after it folded,
literally the team, she moved on to play with Santa
Cruz until she moved to Umeå IK. There, she really
established herself as a contender, with her scoring a hat-trick
and scoring 25 goals, making her the second-highest scorer behind

(01:09):
Lota Huling. But of course, this was only the beginning.
She made history many times over in her career, including
holding the most career goals in the Women's World Cup,
and up until, again, recently, was the highest World Cup
goals at 17 points, which was broken this year in
the 2026 World Cup, when Lionel Messi scored, I believe, 19,
and then... Kylian Mbappe came back around with scoring 22.

(01:33):
So this is according to Olympic.com. Just as an aside,
the AI interpretation puts messy as first due to quote
unquote inaccuracies. I'm very confused by what the AI is
trying to tell me. I don't want to use it,
but that came up and I was like, huh? So
I was a little bit confused. But of course, if

(01:53):
you go to FIFA.com, they leave out Marta altogether, which
I'm guessing they're like, oh, Women's World Cup is not
the same as World Cup. So we're going to put
this on this way. And I feel like it's kind
of super misogynistic that FIFA makes a lot of money
off of the Women's World Cup. And they couldn't just

(02:14):
put it in the World Cup numbers, even though the
Olympics does. Just a side note from me. And by
the way, Marta did praise Messi and his performance when
her record was broken, which she had held for like
seven years. With a celebratory post of his goal and
like three clap emojis. You know, we celebrate everybody. Her

(02:38):
gameplay alone put her in history. And her activism, though,
for women and girls, it really made her an ambassador
and a leader for so many. So in 2018, the
UN Women named her the Goodwill Ambassador for Women and
Girls in Sports. So this is from UNWomen.org. An icon
and a role model for many, Marta is widely regarded
as the best female soccer player of all time. She

(03:00):
currently plays for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's
Soccer League in the United States and as a forward
on the Brazilian national team. She is the all-time top
scorer of FIFA Women's World Cup tournament and was named
Player of the Year five consecutive times. This also made
her the first woman from Latin America to be named
ambassador for UN. So I thought that was a big thing.

(03:23):
She said within the same article, quote, it is an
honor to become a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Women
and Girls in Sports. I'm fully committed to work with
UN Women to ensure that women and girls around the
world have the same opportunities that men and boys have
to fulfill their potential. And I know from my life
experience that sport is a fantastic tool for empowerment. Through sport,

(03:44):
women and girls can challenge sociocultural norms and gender stereotypes
and increase their self-esteem, develop life skills and leadership. They
can improve their health and ownership and understanding of their bodies,
become aware of what is violence and how to prevent it,
and look for available services and develop economic skills.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
I love to see that.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
By the way, she'd already been an ambassador for the
UN Development Program from 2010 to 2018. She also went
on to launch Go Equal in 2023, which was her
sportswear brand. And with the royalties, she donated to football-related
organizations that promote women leadership in football. And if you
were wondering.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
How many accolades.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
She had, well, they include FIFA Women's World Cup Golden
Boot and Golden Ball in 2007, FIFA Best Special Award
in 2023, Sports Illustrated Top 20 Female Athletes of the
Decade from 2000-2009, and FIFA MARTA Award 2024, which was
named after her and created because of her techniques. And

(04:43):
it was to be awarded for the Women's Association football
player to have scored the most aesthetically significant goal of
the year. So it was that most beautiful goal, which
When you watch, you're like, oh, that was beautiful. That
was gorgeous. Goal is one of those. So they named
it after her. And there is a biopic coming up
pretty soon, starring Brazilian actress Alice Carvalho and directed by

(05:08):
Indrucha Waddington, who did a Vinnie Jr. biopic as well,
another soccer player. And it's supposed to be released in
April of 2027. I think it's currently in production. Just
keep in note. And we wanted to end with a
part of a translated letter she wrote to her younger
self for theplayerstribune.com. So just FYI, it is very, very,

(05:29):
very long and it's very, very inspiring. So you should
definitely read it. We just took a little bit out
of it because I thought it was something really fun
and beautiful to share. So this is what she wrote.
And it is translated from Portuguese to English. Dear 14-year-old Marta,
get on the bus. I know what you're thinking. I
know what you're feeling. Don't think about it, how scared

(05:50):
you are, how nervous you are, how everyone said you
can't do it, that you shouldn't do it. Don't think
about any of that. Just get on the bus. This bus,
if you can believe it, is going to take you
on the three-days drive to Rio de Janeiro. This bus
will leave behind your family and 11,000 people in Dos Riachos.
This bus will leave flat dirt roads for green countryside

(06:10):
that will turn to mountains and then the city. This
bus is going to take you to your dream, your
dream of becoming a professional footballer, and it's going to
take you to so much more. I know it doesn't
make sense to you right now. I know the questions
you ask every day. Why would God give me this
talent if no one wants me to play? But use that.
Use that for strength and motivation. Use it to fight, Marta.

(06:30):
Fight to prove everyone wrong, everyone who thinks there's no
place for girls on the pitch. Fight against their prejudice.
Fight against the lack of support. Fight against it all,
the boys, the people who say you can't do it. Fight.
Fight to be accepted. Teach them, Marta, how to improvise,
how to express themselves, and make some history. A UEFA
Women's Cup, seven league titles, an 87-minute goal to win

(06:51):
the Swedish Cup, another Swedish Cup, and then keep going
all over the world playing football. It's amazing how much
the game has changed for women, but in many ways,
you'll find it's always going to be just a little
bit harder for girls. Leagues and clubs will start and shutter.
But one thing you'll find, whether in Brazil or Sweden
or now being back to the United States with Orlando Pride,

(07:13):
is that every woman shares something. A complicated story and
a love for football that keeps driving them. But that loneliness,
it won't last and it won't be long before you
are all playing together. I know right now, at 14
years old, all you want to do is get away
from Dos Riachos. So this is going to sound crazy.
But one of the best moments of your career will
happen there. You'll go all over the world. But Dos

(07:34):
Riachos is where it will hit you. You'll come home,
it'll be 2006, and you'll have just won FIFA World
Player of the Year for the first time. That's right,
this is just your first. There'll be crowds of people
welcoming you home. Everyone wants to see the hometown hero
who's come back. They'll even drive you around in a
fire truck. You won't be rejected anymore. The same people
who said you were odd, that you couldn't play, that

(07:56):
you shouldn't play, will be applauding as you go by.
You're a woman and you're a footballer. I know all
of this seems so far away now, standing on the road,
looking at this buzz. But it's all right there. And
the first step is only 2,000 kilometers away. Believe in yourself.
Believe in your instinct. And you'll find out just why
God has given you this talent. You won't ask why anymore.

(08:16):
And neither will anybody else. Get on the bus. Marta.
So again, this is just a small clip, but it
was so beautiful and so inspiring. You should definitely go
and check it out. But yeah, I kind of love
people like Marta who just really inspire and lead in
such an amazing way. Yes.

Speaker 1 (08:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
And I love the idea of reaching back to your
younger self and saying, just this world awaits you. Yes.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
So good.

Speaker 3 (08:44):
Well, listeners, if you have any thoughts about this, if
you have any suggestions for future episodes, please let us know.
You can email us at hello at stuffandnevertoldyou.com. You can
find us on Blue Sky, at Mom's Stuff Podcast, or
on Instagram and TikTok at stuffandnevertoldyou. We're also on YouTube.
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a book you can get wherever you get your books.

Speaker 1 (09:06):
Thanks, as always, to our super producer, Rima, and our executive,
Bruce Maya. Thank you. And thanks to you for listening.
Stuff I've Never Told You is a production by HeartRadio.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
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