Red or green? For Brazil, the politics of World Cup kits matter

Brazilian fans cheer for their team ahead of the 2026 World Cup Group C football match between Brazil and Haiti at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on June 19, 2026. [Jewel SAMAD / AFP]

When Brazil faces Scotland in the World Cup on Wednesday, the South American team's goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, will be wearing 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's colors have become the subject of a deep political dispute.

The Selecao's 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.

And while Lula has set out to reclaim the colours of Brazil's flag in his push for reelection in October, red -- not typically part of Team Brazil's gear -- is the colour of the left and his party.

When FIFA unveiled the group stage kits for each team's goalkeepers before the tournament began on June 11, it said Alisson would be in a completely red uniform for the team's final Group C match.

The Liverpool shot-stopper wore black and pink kits in the first two games against Morocco and Haiti.

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's dress code: the red kit was dropped in favor of the green.

Prioritizing Brazil

After Brazilian sports media reported Tuesday that the president of the country's football federation (CBF) Samir Xaud had "vetoed" the red kit, he told ESPN the change was long-planned.

"I asked for it because it's something we already talked about some time ago. We're prioritizing the colors of Brazil's flag," Xaud told ESPN.

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 "political reasons" but to exalt national colors.

In a message to AFP Tuesday, the national federation denied any "veto," and said FIFA chose the red kit "without knowing" it was not part of Brazil's clothing collection for the games.

"FIFA 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's current collection," CBF said.

FIFA declined comment to AFP and Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Bolsonaro's jersey'

The politicisation of the Selecao's uniforms has permeated the football-mad country.

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's crest or communist symbols.

"We need to wear green and yellow and add 'Not a Bolsonarist,'" the 80-year-old Lula said at an event in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month.

"During the World Cup, we should wear in yellow and green so we don't let Brazil's colors be taken over by any fascist."

Lula and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, are leading in the polls ahead of the October elections.

Jair Bolsonaro used to say his country's flag "will never be red," and his son calls the traditional green and yellow shirt "Bolsonaro's jersey."