Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Na equipa, cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante. - In the team, each of the players has an important role.

cada always takes a singular verb:
- Cada jogador tem... – Each player has...
- Cada uma das jogadoras tem... – Each (one) of the players has...
Even though das jogadoras refers to multiple players, it’s just a complement of cada uma, not the subject itself.

So:

tem = 3rd person singular (he/she/it has) → correct here
têm = 3rd person plural (they have) → would be wrong in this sentence

What does na mean, and why isn’t it just em a equipa?

Na is a contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) + the feminine singular article a (the):

em + a = na

So:

na equipa = in/on the team
If it were masculine: em + o = no → no jogo (in the game).

In Portuguese these contractions are compulsory in standard usage. Em a equipa would sound wrong or at least very unnatural.

Why is it equipa and not equipe? Isn’t equipe the word for team?

This is a European Portuguese vs. Brazilian Portuguese difference:

In Portugal, the normal word is equipa (with a).
In Brazil, the normal word is equipe (with e).

So:

European Portuguese: Na equipa, cada uma das jogadoras...
Brazilian Portuguese: Na equipe, cada uma das jogadoras...

Both come from the same origin and mean the same thing; it’s just a regional spelling/pronunciation difference.

Why do we say cada uma das jogadoras instead of just cada jogadora?

Both are possible, but they have slightly different structures:

Cada jogadora tem um papel importante.
- Literally: Each player has an important role.
- cada modifies jogadora directly.
Cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante.
- Literally: Each one of the players has an important role.
- cada uma = each one
- das jogadoras = of the players (specifies the group)

Nuance:

cada jogadora is a bit more compact and direct.
cada uma das jogadoras can sound a bit more emphatic or explicit about the fact that we are talking about each individual within that specific group of players.

Why is it cada uma (feminine) and not cada um?

In Portuguese, um/uma agree in gender with the noun they refer to:

Players here are jogadoras (feminine plural), so the pronoun-like element must also be feminine: uma.
If we were talking about male players (jogadores) or using the generic masculine, we’d say:
- Cada um dos jogadores tem um papel importante.

So:

cada uma das jogadoras → feminine group
cada um dos jogadores → masculine or mixed group (default masculine).

Why is das used in das jogadoras? What does it come from?

Das is a contraction of:

de (of/from) + as (the, feminine plural)

So:

de + as = das

In cada uma das jogadoras:

Literally: each one *of the players*
Portuguese uses de
- article for that of the idea, and it contracts to das.

Compare:

dos jogadores = de + os (of the players, masculine plural)
das jogadoras = de + as (of the players, feminine plural).

Does jogadoras mean it’s specifically a women’s team?

Yes, jogadoras is the feminine plural of players, so it tells us we’re talking about female players.

Masculine singular: jogador
Feminine singular: jogadora
Masculine plural: jogadores (also used as the generic players for mixed or unspecified groups)
Feminine plural: jogadoras (only women)

So this sentence clearly refers to a team of women. For a mixed or not-specified-gender team, you’d normally see jogadores.

Why is it um papel importante and not uma papel importante with jogadoras being feminine?

Noun gender in Portuguese is inherent to the noun itself, not to the people it refers to:

papel (role, paper) is masculine in Portuguese.
Therefore it takes masculine determiners and adjectives:
- um papel importante (an important role)
- o papel principal (the main role)

The fact that it’s the female players who have the role doesn’t change the gender of papel. So we keep it masculine: um papel importante.

Why doesn’t importante change form to agree with papel or jogadoras?

The adjective importante has the same form for both masculine and feminine in the singular, and the same for both in the plural:

Masculine singular: um papel importante
Feminine singular: uma jogadora importante
Masculine plural: jogadores importantes
Feminine plural: jogadoras importantes

So importante already agrees correctly with papel (masculine singular); it just doesn’t show the agreement through a visible ending change.

Could I say Em vez de “Na equipa, cada uma das jogadoras...” can I put “Cada uma das jogadoras, na equipa, tem...”? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct, though the rhythm and emphasis change slightly.

Possible orders:

Na equipa, cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante.
→ Starts by setting the context (in the team), then comments on the players.
Cada uma das jogadoras, na equipa, tem um papel importante.
→ Starts by focusing on each player, then adds in the team as extra information.

Both are fine. The original order (Na equipa, ...) sounds very natural and typical when introducing the setting first.

Is na equipa closer to English in the team or on the team?

Literally it’s in the team, because em is usually in/at/on depending on context. But in natural English, we would normally translate:

Na equipa, cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante.
→ On the team, each (one) of the players has an important role.

So:

Portuguese structure: em
- article
Best English equivalent: on the team in this context.

Could I drop na equipa and just say Cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct:

Cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante.

You simply lose the context that we’re specifically talking about their role on the team. It would then mean:

Each of the players has an important role (in general, or in whatever context you’ve already established).

The meaning remains essentially the same, but a bit less explicit about “where” they have that role.

Is there a simpler way to say the same idea, like using todas instead of cada?

You can use todas (all of them), but it slightly changes the meaning:

Cada uma das jogadoras tem um papel importante.
→ Focus on each individual player; everyone has their own important role.
Todas as jogadoras têm um papel importante.
→ Focus on the group as a whole; all players (as a set) have important roles.

Both are positive, but cada emphasizes individuality, while todas emphasizes the group.