<p>Brazilian prostitutes and a Christian evangelical group played a football match in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, taking over a central street to raise awareness about sex workers’ rights.<br /><br />Gathering just after Colombia played Greece in the southeastern city, the women set up an impromptu pitch using traffic cones for goalposts and played to the enthusiastic cheers of onlookers.<br /><br />The prostitutes, calling themselves the Naked Football Club — though in fact they played in the green and yellow uniforms of Brazil — teamed up with the visiting evangelicals from the United States to take on a local university team in a match with a message.</p>.<p>“Rights must be the same for everyone. We’re no different from anyone else just because we’re sex workers,” player Patricia Bonges told AFP.<br /><br />“We are finally breaking that prejudice and stigma.”<br /><br />Her American teammate Jenny Jack said the game was about showing that “you just love people, you don’t judge, you don’t change people, you just love them.”</p>.<p> Prostitutes in Brazil have long complained of discrimination and called for the government to treat their profession like any other, including with programmes to help older sex workers.</p>.<p>The match was organised by the Prostitutes’ Association of Minas Gerais, the state where Belo Horizonte is located.</p>.<p>The association has also helped some of the city’s 80,000 sex workers prepare for the World Cup by offering free English classes at a local mall.</p>
<p>Brazilian prostitutes and a Christian evangelical group played a football match in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, taking over a central street to raise awareness about sex workers’ rights.<br /><br />Gathering just after Colombia played Greece in the southeastern city, the women set up an impromptu pitch using traffic cones for goalposts and played to the enthusiastic cheers of onlookers.<br /><br />The prostitutes, calling themselves the Naked Football Club — though in fact they played in the green and yellow uniforms of Brazil — teamed up with the visiting evangelicals from the United States to take on a local university team in a match with a message.</p>.<p>“Rights must be the same for everyone. We’re no different from anyone else just because we’re sex workers,” player Patricia Bonges told AFP.<br /><br />“We are finally breaking that prejudice and stigma.”<br /><br />Her American teammate Jenny Jack said the game was about showing that “you just love people, you don’t judge, you don’t change people, you just love them.”</p>.<p> Prostitutes in Brazil have long complained of discrimination and called for the government to treat their profession like any other, including with programmes to help older sex workers.</p>.<p>The match was organised by the Prostitutes’ Association of Minas Gerais, the state where Belo Horizonte is located.</p>.<p>The association has also helped some of the city’s 80,000 sex workers prepare for the World Cup by offering free English classes at a local mall.</p>