{"id":249756,"date":"2026-06-24T02:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/why-goalkeepers-world-cup-kit-has-sparked-a-political-dispute-in-football-mad-nation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T02:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:14:00","slug":"why-goalkeepers-world-cup-kit-has-sparked-a-political-dispute-in-football-mad-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/why-goalkeepers-world-cup-kit-has-sparked-a-political-dispute-in-football-mad-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why goalkeeper\u2019s World Cup kit has sparked a political dispute in football-mad nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When Brazil faces Scotland in the World Cup on Wednesday, the South American team\u2019s goalkeeper Alisson Becker will be dressed in a green kit – not the red one originally approved by FIFA. <\/p>\n

In any other country, such a wardrobe change might have gone unnoticed, but not in Brazil where the national team\u2019s colours have become the subject of a deep political dispute. <\/p>\n

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now ><\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

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The Selecao\u2019s iconic yellow and green jerseys were co-opted years ago by conservatives aligned with far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro – who is serving time for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 elections to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. <\/p>\n

And while Lula has set out to reclaim the colours of Brazil\u2019s flag in his push to reelection in October, red – not typically part of Team Brazil\u2019s gear – is the colour of the left and his party. <\/p>\n

When FIFA unveiled the group stage kits for each team\u2019s goalkeepers before the tournament began on June 11, it said Alisson would be in a completely red uniform for the team\u2019s final Group C match. <\/p>\n

The Liverpool shot-stopper wore black and pink kits in the first two games against Morocco and Haiti.<\/p>\n

But before the five-time world champions try to secure their place in the round of 32 in Miami, the change came down on the goalkeeper\u2019s dress code: the red kit was dropped in favour of the green. <\/p>\n

After Brazilian sports media reported Tuesday that the president of the country\u2019s football federation (CBF) Samir Xaud had \u201cvetoed\u201d the red kit, he told ESPN the change was long-planned. <\/p>\n

\u201cI asked for it because it\u2019s something we already talked about some time ago. We\u2019re prioritising the colours of Brazil\u2019s flag,\u201d Xaud told ESPN. <\/p>\n

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Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker. AP Photo\/Petr David Josek<\/span>Source: AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last August, Xaud asked US sportswear brand Nike, which has outfitted the team since 1996, to cancel the red kits – saying then that the move was not because of \u201cpolitical reasons\u201d but to exalt national colours. <\/p>\n

In a message to AFP Tuesday, the national federation denied any \u201cveto\u201d, and said FIFA chose the red kit \u201cwithout knowing\u201d it was not part of Brazil\u2019s clothing collection for the games. <\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA stipulates that each team must present four goalkeeper jersey options. We included the red one as the fourth option but it has not been released on the market and is not part of Nike\u2019s current collection,\u201d CBF said. <\/p>\n

FIFA declined comment to AFP and Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The politicisation of the Selecao\u2019s uniforms has permeated the football-mad country.<\/p>\n

Some avoid the green and yellow jerseys to avoid any association with Bolsonaro and his movement, while others on the left wear unofficial red merch emblazoned with the CBF\u2019s crest or communist symbols. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to wear green and yellow and add \u2018Not a Bolsonarist,\u2019\u201d the 80-year-old Lula said at an event in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the World Cup, we should wear in yellow and green so we don\u2019t let Brazil\u2019s colours be taken over by any fascist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lula and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, are leading in the polls ahead of the October elections. <\/p>\n

Jair Bolsonaro used to say his country\u2019s flag \u201cwill never be red\u201d, and his son calls the traditional green and yellow shirt \u201cBolsonaro\u2019s jersey\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Brazil faces Scotland in the World Cup on Wednesday, the South American team\u2019s goalkeeper Alisson Becker will be dressed in a green kit – not the red one originally approved by FIFA. In any other country, such a wardrobe change might have gone unnoticed, but not in Brazil where the national team\u2019s colours have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":249757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-249756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}