“I always say that life is like a great No10, a great midfielder. When life passes you the ball, you need to be a centre-forward, to shoot at goal and to score. And I don’t miss the goal. When life presents me with an opportunity, I hit it hard and I score.”
The above was a statement from one of the best-known characters in Brazilian football – full of her typical personality and confidence – provided in an interview with FIFA. Of the 32 clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, Leila Pereira of SE Palmeiras is the only female president.
“I’m very proud of that, but I hope to see other women [in the role] in the future. I hope I can be an example to inspire women to fight for their place in football – nothing is handed to us on a plate, we all know that,” she told FIFA.
Unlike many other women involved in the sport, Pereira was not overly interested in football as a youngster. When thinking about her current position in the game, she references an idea put forward by Jean-Paul Sartre: “Existence precedes essence.” Basically, it means we exist as a person first before becoming what we are destined to be.
Pereira met her husband at the age of 18 and, with him, she discovered the other great love of her life – the club that would paint her heart green.
Palmeiras will be looking for global success when they travel to the USA for the new FIFA Club World Cup, which gets under way on 14 June. The Verdao have been drawn into Group A of the tournament, with FC Porto, Al Ahly FC and Inter Miami CF.
All 32 teams will, of course, be dreaming of taking home the stunning new trophy – which has already been at the Sao Paulo club as part of its tour around the world. Pereira is no stranger to being a pioneer, and she would love nothing more than for Palmeiras to go down in history as the first club to win the new 32-team Club World Cup. On 13 July, we will see the new trophy being lifted for the first time.
“We recently had it in our trophy room, and I hope it comes back again. We’re very much prepared, we have a really strong squad. We will put on an exciting show for our fans. A ‘successful’ Club World Cup for us would be winning the trophy, but just being there and being competitive will be very satisfying,” explained the Palmeiras president.
“We can’t predict that we’re going to go and win the tournament. What we can guarantee is that we’ll go there to compete as much as we can, and we will give it everything we have to get as close as possible to lifting that trophy. That’s what we can guarantee our fans. We will show the world what we’ve already shown in Brazil: we fight to the very end.”
She also had a message for those who have witnessed the club’s success in recent years. “Enjoy it, because this is the most successful spell in the club’s entire history. It’s an amazing experience seeing your club win so many trophies,” she said.
In a playful tone, Pereira also demonstrated that she is well aware of both the ups and downs of being the president of a football club. “If the team win, it’s always down to the players and the coach. If they lose, it’s the president. Do you know what I mean? But that’s all fine. I even celebrate myself when they win. I look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Well done, Leila, you’re amazing.’ You know?” she revealed, laughing.
In her student days, she studied journalism and wasn’t planning on focusing on one specific field, but one of her roles as an intern was to go and cover matches at the iconic Estadio do Maracana – the temple of football that hosts CR Flamengo and Fluminense FC home games. As a shy and humble aspiring journalist, she sat on a stool behind the goal and marvelled at the crowd behind her. She could never have dreamt at that point that she would one day run one of the biggest clubs in the country.
“I didn’t return to the Maracana [after that] until I was the Palmeiras president. I was so excited. I never imagined that I could be the president of a club of that size,” she said. “A woman being a club president was unprecedented. But we dream of being independent. It doesn’t matter what path you’re looking to go down, whether you’re a woman or not, it’s so important to be in control of your own life. And I think that I’ve done that.”
Fast-forward to the present day and Pereira now serves as that “precedent” that was previously missing, the figure that countless football-obsessed young girls can look up to and see that running a football club is more than just a wild dream. “That’s what motivates me the most. I’m at Palmeiras and I obviously want my club to be successful. I want to win trophies, sure. But, aside from that, it’s being an example [to young women],” she explained.
“So, along with representing this huge club, [what excites me the most] is being able to inspire so many girls because, when I was younger, there was nobody like that. We’ve broken down those ridiculous paradigms. Some people still say that women don’t understand football. Imagine if I knew back then how many trophies we would win. ‘Wow, a woman in football?’, they say. Yes, sir, and a successful one at that,” she added.
She also believes that the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™, which will be played on Brazilian soil, will be transformative in putting women at the forefront of football. Will that World Cup provide the next Marta or Leila Pereira? “It’s going to be an amazing opportunity. I’m glad I’m still going to be president, as my mandate ends in December 2027,” she said.
While she is “Aunt Leila” to the Palmeiras fans, the players treat her with the respect that any president would expect: “I’m not Aunt Leila here at the club. Here, I’m the president. The only people who call me Aunt Leila are the fans. And I love that. I think it’s really sweet. The players treat me with the utmost respect because that’s how I treat them. I obviously don’t go into the changing room, being a woman; I don’t like being around there. That’s their space.”
That is not to say that she is not capable of managing a group of men – quite the opposite. During the international window in March 2024, Pereira was brought in as the head of delegation for the Brazilian men’s national team. You can see the glint in her eyes when she talks about Brazil’s mission of trying to win a sixth World Cup in 2026.
“It would be incredible. If I’m not there as a head of delegation, I’ll be there as a fan. I could go to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Being the head of delegation for the Seleção was really significant for me because I was the first woman to do it. Everything I do, I seem to be the first woman to do it, you know?” she said.
“Everything is more difficult for a woman. Everything. I even find myself wondering … if I were to be born again, would I want to be born a woman? But as I think about it, I realise that the answer is, ‘Yes, I want to be born a woman again.’ That fight gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
