Roberta Moretti Avery has long been the face of Brazilian cricket. From playing and captaining the national side to mentoring the next generation, her journey has been inextricably linked to the sport’s rise in the country.
Now, as she takes over as President of Cricket Brazil, the first woman to do so in the Americas, Roberta reflects on what the role means to her, how she hopes to shape Brazil’s future in the game, and why the weight of being the first also comes with legacy.
On whether the moment has sunk in
To be fair, now yes. I think I’ve known for a few weeks. Ever since I was asked the question to take a step up, I have had to organise a lot of things in my life. So I guess I have been living this process of accepting that I’m now the leader of the Board of Cricket Brazil for a little bit of time.
The best thing was to start working on it immediately. So, I was elected on Friday the 13th, and on the 14th, we were already working and thinking about the structure, the next processes, and getting things in place.
On whether it was a part of her future plans or whether it was something that came together at the right time
In the last 4-5 years, I have been involved in the administration side of Cricket Brazil. I like to work on the operational side: how to make the leadership program better, and to organise high performance better. I think that Matt Featherstone- our former president, leader, inspiration, and mentor- and I work quite well together in this.
I had in the back of my mind that maybe the presidency would happen in the future. But I always thought about it as something that would happen after I retired as an athlete. The opportunity happened now, and at first, I actually hesitated. After a few conversations, we agreed that I could still be an athlete and be the president.
I’m no longer the coach of the U19 team squad, and I’m no longer working on a few other projects. But absolutely, I think when these things happen, the right time is now. So just embrace it. Maybe the right path is not the one that we are planning, but just the one that happens.
What does this new role mean to Roberta, the player?
It doesn’t change much, except I have to be a lot smarter about managing my time. I’ve always juggled more than one role, so the key now is being fully present in whatever I’m doing. When I’m training, I need to be Roberta the athlete. When I’m in meetings or planning for the board, that’s when I put on the President’s hat.
But I think I should still keep my feet very grounded as a player, making sure that I’m working the best way that I can, respecting the process, and working closely with my coaches.
Now that you’re the president, you have to be a little more responsible, right? Basically, no more being the jolly, free-spirited kid on the field?
[Laughs] It’s funny because we recently got the news that cricket is now part of the Pan American Games, which is huge for the sport, especially for the Americas. My celebration on Instagram definitely showed the jolly, free-spirited kid in me.
The broadcast, the marketing, and the visibility we’ll get from this tournament are something we’ve never had before. But of course, being President brings a lot more responsibility. I think one of my advantages is being able to communicate what’s happening in Cricket Brazil to the world.
I want to make sure that this new chapter in my career also inspires girls to take up leadership roles. I’ve always said I want to inspire girls to play the game, and that hasn’t changed. But now, I also want them to feel like they can manage and lead the spaces they are part of, too.
You’ve seen Brazilian cricket through so many stages. What’s something you know for sure you want to or can build or change now?
I believe in everything we’re doing in Cricket Brazil, especially from the early stages. I want to ensure that all the programs we are creating have a well-built pathway. We’ve grown in a sustainable way, from grassroots clubs to club competitions, softball and hardball tournaments, and age-group levels like U15, U17 and U19 for both boys and girls.
I want to replicate that across all the hubs we’re building. Every kid who starts playing cricket, regardless of gender or skill level, should have the opportunity to grow in the game and stay in it. That, I believe, is Cricket Brazil’s biggest priority.
For the men, for instance, the highest they could play used to be the South American Championship. Now we’re back in the Sub-Regional World Cup Qualifiers. We want the boys pushing for the Pan American Games, aiming for Regional Qualifiers. We want the women to play in the Pan American Games and push for global qualifiers.
With the role comes responsibility, too. How are you planning to deal with it?
This is probably the answer that made me think the most because I am extremely responsible.
When I was a young girl, the image I had of leaders or presidents was usually a white male, bossing people around, very serious, very results-oriented, kind of telling people what to do.
Over time, I realised that was the only leadership style I had known. But it’s not the only one. Especially since I became captain of Cricket Brazil, which was my first leadership role, and through the years that followed, I’ve learned that other styles of leadership can be just as efficient, or even more efficient, than the one I grew up knowing.
As a leader, I like to make sure that the team is bringing the best out of themselves in a healthy work environment where everyone is moving toward the same goals.
What’s the first thing you’re going to change?
I don’t intend to change anything straight away. As Cricket Brazil grows, we have more people involved: more coaches, more staff on the board, and in administration. We need to make sure everyone has clear roles and defined targets, so there’s clarity and organisation as we move forward.
We want to make sure this growth is happening in every state and every federation we work with. For that to happen, structure is essential. That’s the first thing we’re focused on. The entire board and Cricket Brazil team have been very supportive and efficient, and I think we’re going to see great results from it.
I know your vision is to take cricket to schools, but cricket is not a common sport for most Brazilian kids, right? How are we going to get them to pick up a bat?
That is already working really well. We have a street game called Taco in Brazil, which is basically two-a-side cricket. A research company ran a survey and found that 64% of Brazilians have played football in their lives, which is high, but 71% have played Taco. So, Brazilians actually already play a simple form of cricket.
When we introduce Cricket in schools, it’s not entirely unfamiliar. Of the 12,000 kids playing cricket every month, all of them start at school, and the response has been really positive. It’s about expanding the number of schools, increasing the hubs in a sustainable way, and making sure the work we’re doing is creating clear pathways for them to access the sport.
What does this role mean for women’s cricket in Brazil?
Like I said before, when I started playing, one of the things I carried very close to my heart was the dream of creating a legacy where girls could see themselves playing this game.
Then, with captaincy, the focus shifted to helping them believe they could lead, that they could be the voice of the team. Now, this third step is about showing that they can lead the environments they are part of, that their voices can be heard, and that they can create change.
I’ve been using this line a lot lately: the opportunity of being the first carries the weight of the legacy. Being the first president of Cricket Brazil means making sure girls and women who come after me believe this space is also for them. And that thought brings me a lot of joy.
Where do you feel the Brazil team is right now, and where do you see them going in the next five years?
The Brazilian women’s team is starting to show results from the work done over the past few months. We didn’t have the World Cup qualifiers we were hoping for this year; the results weren’t there. But at the same time, the Kwibuka tournament showed massive improvement, especially with the new strategies we’ve implemented and the work Julia Price has been doing with us for the past three months.
Looking ahead, in the next five years, we’re aiming for a top 25 spot in the rankings. We want to be very competitive in the Pan American Games and reach the global stage of World Cup qualifiers, playing more games consistently.
As for the men, a big change is coming soon: they’ll be getting central contracts. We’re beginning to build the same pathway for them: playing more competitions, becoming competitive in the regional qualifiers, and aiming to break into the top 50 in the world rankings.
One of Brazil’s long-time issues is not playing enough matches. How are you going to fix that?
One of the best things that has happened is that cricket has become an Olympic sport. We have a strong relationship with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, and they support all Olympic sports by providing resources for high-performance programs. We now have a dedicated budget to play more competitions, improve our structures, and bring in better coaches, something we didn’t have before.
For example, we recently participated in the Kwibuka tournament in Africa. It was a big step for the women’s team. That entire campaign was funded by the Olympic Committee.
This support means we can invest more in high performance without compromising development work. With continued backing from the ICC, local governments, and sponsors, it’s going to help our women’s, men’s and under-19 teams all play more matches in the coming years.
How was the recent Kwibuka tournament from your perspective?
When we went over there in 2022, we didn’t really know what to expect. I think it was a good understanding to see that we were still very raw. We needed a lot of technical work and tactical work. These works and development require time. So this three-year gap that we took from Kwibuka was precious to develop, to become a more competitive team.
So, to have victories against strong teams like Nigeria, Sierra Leone and to have very competitive games versus Rwanda. I think it shows that the work is starting to give results, but there’s still a lot to go.
When we look at Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tanzania playing, we know that this is still another gap that we have to close. We have to make sure that we are going to tournaments like this and aiming for the finals, not only the middle.
But knowing that we are on the right path already is very promising, and having good coaches around us is going to be vital for us to keep growing in this scenario.
Give us some context about what the current Brazil setup looks like. How do you see the rebuild starting?
Cricket in Brazil is still in the same structure, just on a bigger scale now. It is first introduced to kids in schools and community projects, from ages six to sixteen. In these schools, they play softball cricket and participate in festivals, and from there, kids and coaches can move to clubs.
At the club level, they begin transitioning from softball to hardball, competing in age-group formats: From U13 up to U19 in both boys’ and girls’ hardball T10s and youth T20s.
Around ages 13–14, we usually have girls and boys training separately, which we’ve identified as a key area. We see a high dropout rate around this age, and when girls’ programs start at this point, that rate drops.
From youth competitions, they can progress to local, state, and national under-19 teams. From there, the pathway carries all the way to high performance.
So it’s quite similar to the structure in England or India, with the key difference being that Brazil is a non-traditional cricket country, and participation is almost 50-50 between boys and girls, something we’re very proud of.
Where do you think Brazil will be at the end of, say, five years?
In five years, we want to have a much higher number of kids playing. Our target is 30,000 kids playing cricket monthly in our hubs. We want cricket in four different federations, with clubs and local leagues working across boys’, girls’ and senior teams.
The main goal is to keep replicating the project we’ve built in the capital across other federations. It has already worked well in São Paulo. So that’s the plan for the next five years.
We also want to see more of our players competing in other countries like England, Australia, and the Caribbean, learning and bringing that experience back. The same goes for our coaches: we want them to grow, get good mentorship, improve their qualifications, and lead the way forward in Brazil.
Do you see more women taking up bigger roles than just playing the game in future in Brazil?
Absolutely, I see that. Ten years ago, when I started playing cricket, girls were just players. And now, in 2025, I see girls running the players’ committee, running the clubs, taking leadership roles on the Board.
We have more than 33% of the board being female, and the same in the clubs. And we have 48% of the people who work in Cricket Brazil now who are women.
The scenario we have here is about giving opportunity, giving access, and giving training to everyone. So I think that’s going to be very natural in Cricket Brazil. And I hope that the girls feel confident, feel good and know that this also belongs to them.
Thanks to Gomesh for the help with editing.
