UOIT students celebrate campus visit by Brazilian soccer star Marta
Marta visits ACE, science lab and meets with university students
June 8, 2015
![Brazil's soccer icon Marta (centre) meets with UOIT students at Polonsky Commons (June 5, 2015). All images courtesy of UOIT Athletics.](images/Thumbnail_Marta.jpg)
OSHAWA, ONTARIO – She is one of the most celebrated icons in the world of soccer. In 2010 she was named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. For the 200 million people in her home country of Brazil, she is known simply by just one name: Marta. When you win five consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year Awards (2006 to 2010) and are named a runner-up on four other occasions, you’ve more than earned that level of notoriety.
On June 5, Marta Vieira da Silva stopped by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) to meet with members of the UOIT Ridgebacks women’s soccer team and some of the university’s Brazilian (Science Without Borders) international students. She also checked out some of the university’s top-notch research facilities including the ACE climatic wind tunnel and the Faculty of Science’s biology laboratories.
“Soccer without borders and Science Without Borders helps create a spirit of friendship between nations like Canada and Brazil, which we all value,” said Susan McGovern, Vice-President, External Relations and Advancement, UOIT. “The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is proud Marta was able to spend some time with us and share with our students her passion for success.”
Marta autographed UOIT mini soccer balls for the Ridgebacks players, posed for a picture with the team and also took home a Ridgebacks jacket.
Marta is in Canada to compete for her country in the FIFA World Cup, which runs through Sunday, July 5. Her stop at the university came in advance of her participation in the PanAm/ParapanAm Games Torch Relay event in the City of Oshawa.
Media contact
Bryan Oliver
UOIT Communications and Marketing
905.721.8668 ext. 6709
289.928.3653 (cell)
bryan.oliver@uoit.ca