It’s not often that a national soccer federation has to issue a statement refuting a persistent rumour, but that’s exactly what the organization that oversees Brazil’s national teams had to do this week.
The Confederação Brasileira de Futebol took to social media on Tuesday, April 29, to officially debunk rumours that the Brazilian men’s national team would be wearing a red Nike away kit during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The rumour was first reported earlier in the week on Footy Headlines. It sparked angry reactions among hard-line right wing factions in Brazil, who—according to a report in The Guardian—consider the colour anti-patriotic due to its ties to current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his Workers’ party, and the Landless Workers’ Movement.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) clarifies that the recently released images of supposed uniforms of the Brazilian national team for the 2026 World Cup are not official.
Neither CBF nor Nike have formally released details about the new line of the National Team.
The entity reaffirms its commitment to its status and informs that the new uniform collection for the World Cup will still be defined in conjunction with Nike.
— Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (translated to English by Facebook)
The Guardian quotes conservative governor Romeu Zema as saying, “Our team’s shirt will never be red – and neither will our country!” in a video where he also throws a mockup of the red shirt to the ground. “Our flag isn’t red – and it never will be,” added politician Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently facing a jail sentence for allegedly plotting a coup to overturn the results of the country’s 2022 elections.
While conservatives like Zema and Bolsonaro were the loudest, Brazilian soccer purists on all sides of the political spectrum decried the red shirt rumour. One left-leaning commentator and former national team player called it “idiocy,” while another sportswriter said it showed “a complete lack of sense.”
Brazil has traditionally worn blue away kits, but have on rare occasions gone with white or teal.
The CBF and Nike recently announced an extension of their kit deal until 2038. According to Associated Press sources, the contract is worth $100 million US per year, and it also includes royalties on the sales of national team shirts, which weren’t included in previous contracts.
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