The first women’s football training center dedicated exclusively to the sport begins to come to fruition next Monday (26), in Araraquara (SP). The project, which has an investment of R$34.5 million, is the result of a partnership between the city council and Petrobras, the Sports Support Foundation of the Municipality of Araraquara (Fundesport) and the Ferroviária club.
The construction start event will be attended by the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, and the city’s former mayor and current national president of the Workers’ Party (PT), Edinho Silva. The feasibility of the Women’s Football Training Center is the result of an agreement signed during Silva’s administration at city hall, whose executive projects and construction authorizations were released by the state-owned company at the end of 2025.
“In Araraquara, the women’s football project began in 2001, even before it became an obligation. Here it was a choice. My gratitude to the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, and President Lula, who have treated women’s football in Brazil as a priority”, stated Edinho Silva.
Agreement signing ceremony, in December 2025. Photo: Rafael Zucco/Ferroviária
Structure
The new training center will be built in an area of 138 thousand square meters in Parque do Pinheirinho, where CT Olegário Tolói de Oliveira, from the Ferroviária club, operates.
The complex was planned to offer a complete infrastructure, focused on high performance and the well-being of athletes.
There will be five football pitches with electronic irrigation and a lighted mini stadium, as well as a hotel with capacity for 82 athletes, a gym, a physiotherapy sector and a medical center, educational areas and social spaces.
The complex will be able to host tournament games from the São Paulo Federation (FPF) and the Brazilian Confederation of the sport (CBF).
Comprehensive Training
The CT’s focus will be on serving around 240 athletes from the youth categories (Under-12, Under-14, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20), covering players between 11 and 20 years old.
In addition to technical preparation, the project provides educational actions that address topics such as women’s health, diversity, financial education, emotional intelligence and the history of the sport.
For the local population, a free football school will be created, integrating the complex into the Araraquarense community.
