Brazil To Play in Green For the First Time Ever
Brazil will wear a special green kit in a friendly this July, the first time in the country's history that they'll wear green on the pitch.
Brazil To Wear Green for First Time Ever
Brazil's home kit is arguably the most iconic in international football, transcending the sport itself. This summer however, they will break from tradition and wear an all green kit. The friendly match will take place at the Arena Amazonia Brazil in July, although the opponent is not yet known. Journalist Andre Rizek broke the news on Brazilian television.
Brazil's 2014 and 2017 green third shirts.
Yellow replaced white as Brazil's home shirt colour after the loss of the 1950 World Cup final and they have used it ever since, while blue has always been their away colour. The only time they wore white again was in 2019 when they released a comemmorative white away shirt for the 100th anniversary of the country's first ever title win. Although Brazil have already released two green third kits (in 2014 and 2017 respectively), they never actually used either of them in a match.
Brazil used their green third shirt in training at the 2014 World Cup but not in any matches.
Moving Away from the Yellow Jersey
There are a couple of reasons behind the choice to wear green later this year. The main motivating factor is the CBF's concern about the perception of the classic home shirt. Many Brazilians now refuse to wear or buy the famous yellow shirt since it was adopted as a symbol by Brazil's former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and his followers. Ahead of the presidential elections last year, Bolsonaro urged Brazilians to “Vote with the yellow shirt!”. Neymar heavily endorsed Bolsonaro ahead throughout the election campaign, as did several other members of the Brazil squad, leading to many Brazilians distancing themselves from the national team.
The CBF is keen to remedy this disconnect and also the drop in sales of yellow Brazil shirts, so they are planning to launch different kits which also tie in with good causes and social issues, such as the preservation of the Amazon. Green is a colour that highlights the plight of the rainforest, and in fact the ticket sales from the match in July will go towards the NGO SOS Amazonia. The Amazon was heavily damaged and exploited for financial gain by Bolsonaro during his time in power.
The CBF and Nike should make an official announcement on the green kit soon. For know the exact shade that will be used is unknown.
What do you think of this idea from Brazil? Will it work in bringing the country and the team closer together? Let us know in the comments.
