FIFATECA, the first woman to compete
in an official EA Sports FIFA Global Series qualifier.
It's something I never imagined.
I was just a young girl playing a game that brings me joy.
You could say I started from the bottom
and now I'm seeing the world.
Hi, I'm Teca, I'm Brazilian.
I'm a professional FIFA player for Astralis,
which is a great esports team.
The path to joining Astralis was very difficult for me.
You have to reach the Elite Division.
I received tremendous support after qualifying with Astralis.
I'm so passionate about FIFA.
I really enjoy playing,
and I really enjoy doing live streams.
So, I'm in an environment where everyone embraces me.
My relationship with sports
dates back to when I was a little girl.
I'm passionate about football, I'm a huge Corinthians fan.
My interest in football was
greatly influenced by my mother.
Because when I was younger,
I used to watch games with her.
Well, my name is Rosineide,
better known as Neide, Teca's mother.
I love football.
If I have to choose between
a soap opera or a football match,
I'll watch football.
Nowadays it's just the two of us,
because my son passed away
and only the two of us warriors remain.
So we look after each other.
She got into FIFA
when my son passed away
and left his video game to her.
I've been playing FIFA since I was ten years old,
I didn't used to play against my brother,
because he liked to play other games.
But he always thought I would excel at the game.
So I can say he was one of my influences,
as well as my mother,
who helped me get to where I am today.
Streaming caught my attention
because I enjoyed watching people play.
So that's where my passion came from.
I thought, "Wow, that's cool, they're playing live!"
Then I said, "I can do that too."
I started playing as a hobby at home,
without a camera or anything.
And then she started doing live streams,
and people began to help her
because the boys didn't believe she was a girl playing.
They got together and made donations
so I could buy a camera and a headset
to talk to them during the streams.
It's inspiring to see people
accepting others for who they are.
So it's cool to see
this feedback from the community.
So I can say in coming this far,
they were fundamental to my success.
That's when they began to believe.
Because she was really good,
even in the beginning, she would beat players
who already had more experience.
So they respected her.
And then suddenly came the news
that Astralis was interested in me.
I said "No, I can't let this opportunity pass by,
because it will not knock on our doorstep twice."
I believe from this moment on,
I was able to prove to myself
that I was as talented as people said.
In the beginning, I was afraid of prejudice,
of people mistreating her or disrespecting her.
But now she knows how to stick up for herself,
how to debate with the others,
and to fight her corner.
There's always that person
who wants to bring us down instead of lifting us up.
Recently, there was even a guy who commented
"Wow, I didn't know girls played FIFA '23," in Spanish.
I answered in Spanish,
"Girls can play whatever they want."
When I started playing professionally,
even with Astralis it was kind of a boom,
because people looked and said,
"Wow! A girl managed to get in."
And then other girls started coming through as well.
I think it inspired other people.
"See, if she can do it, then so can I."
I've become a role model for other girls
who aspire to do the same thing.
That's what matters to me.
I play FIFA every day, every single day.
It's not an easy game to master,
because you have to know how to play and train a lot.
I work even harder than before,
because I always try to do the right thing.
Excellence is very important
because without it, we have nothing to aim for
and we end up falling short of the objectives we set.
Because she's young and has been working,
she's been able to help us.
A lot of what we have comes from her
because I don't earn much, I don't have a lot.
In esports, what motivates me
is wanting to help my mother.
For example, I helped her buy a car.
We got together to renovate the house as well
because I told her a long time ago
that I was going to do it,
but I didn't think I could do it the way she wanted,
especially the bathroom.
I did it exactly how she wanted.
So I think it's priceless to be able to
make the people we love happy.
I think she is very willing to
keep growing, keep striving,
to compete for more.
And I think she will succeed
because she is a warrior.
I recently took part in a PlayStation championship
organized by Platinum Brazil.
And it was an interesting experience,
because I made it to the finals against Fifalize.
During our match,
time was passing quickly
he put pressure on to try to tie the game
so he could stay alive
but I held on and was crowned champion.
A goal from the fierce FIFA Teca. She did...
Looking back, winning the PlayStation championship
was pretty cool.
My mom was in the living room
I rushed to tell her the news.
She was overjoyed and gave me a big hug.
This championship was an incredible thing for me.
To get to this point
and compete in championships,
I've had incredible support from Astralis
and my mother too, she is my safe heaven
because she talks to me and explains what I can do
to get where I want to go.
I am more...
a friend than her mother.
I am a mother who listens, who sees her side.
Friendship is very valuable,
because if you don't have anyone to celebrate with,
your achievement will be worth nothing.
Nobody is happy alone.
It's very difficult to say that "Yeah, I was a champion!"
If you don't have anyone to celebrate with you,
it's worth nothing.