Marta Vieira da Silva

Marta Vieira da Silva, a Brazilian football striker, is one of the best soccer players in the world.  She has won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year five years in a row from 2006 to 2010.

Known to her fans simply as Marta, she was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in October 2010 to promote international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with a special emphasis on the empowerment of women.  Marta is no stranger to poverty and the many challenges that come with it. She was born and raised in a poor neighbourhood of a town near Dois Riachos, in the Brazilian state of Alagoas, about 2,000 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro.

“I don’t forget my origins,” said Marta during the appointment. “I have been given opportunities to succeed in life, but I constantly think about the ones who did not have this chance. We all need to contribute to help defeat poverty.” Marta is known in Brazil for giving back to her hometown by donating money and sport supplies.

It was in Sweden where Marta's career flourished, scoring an outstanding 111 goals in 103 appearances between 2004 and 2008.  During her time playing for her Swedish club, Marta was named the top scorer for 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008.  She also won the award for best forward in 2007 and 2008.

In 2007, fellow football players Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane invited Marta to play in UNDP’s Match Against Poverty in Fez, Morocco, where she became the first woman in the history of football to play in an internationally-sanctioned men’s football match.  Her brilliant football techniques are compared to that of Pele, world renowned football player, which has earned her the nickname “Pele with skirts”.

“UNDP works around the world making a positive difference in people’s lives, and I am proud to add my personal commitment to its work,” said Marta at the time of her appointment.