Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Expand/collapse submenu for Culture

Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows

As Brazil debuts at World Cup, some fans wont don iconic yellow and green shirt

Brazilians who voted against President Jair Bolsonaro are torn about sporting the yellow soccer jersey after the far-right leader and his supporters adopted the shirt.

Why some Brazilians wont be wearing their national soccer colors for the World Cup

Why some Brazilians wont be wearing their national soccer colors for the World Cup

iframe src= width=100% height=290 frameborder=0 scrolling=no title=NPR embedded audio player

Fans arrive to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil round of 16 match between Brazil and Chile at Estadio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on June 28, 2014.Pedro Vilela/Getty Imageshide caption

Fans arrive to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil round of 16 match between Brazil and Chile at Estadio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on June 28, 2014.

RIO DE JANEIRO Its probably the most recognized soccer shirt out there: the canary yellow with bright green trim. Brazil has worn it during allfive of itsrecord World Cup titles. But at home, the national colors have been steeped in controversy ever since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro adopted them as the emblem of his brand of nationalist politics.

Bolsonaristas, as the presidents followers are known, wear the jerseys and wrap themselves in the Brazilian flag at marches and rallies supporting his conservative religious,anti-LGBTQ and pro-gun rights messages.

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wear campaign shirts and carry the national flag at a rally in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 30.Silvia Izquierdo/APhide caption

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wear campaign shirts and carry the national flag at a rally in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 30.

Bolsonaro downplayed the coronavirus pandemic and oversaw a devastating COVID-19 death toll. He slashed Amazon protections leading to record deforestation. And he hastried to challengethe election results after electoral authorities declaredvictory last month for his rival, President-elect Luiz Incio Lula da Silva.

In Brazil, the yellow shirt has become the equivalent of the red MAGA hat worn by followers of Bolsonaros ally, former President Donald Trump.

Soccer fan Vanessa Morales says she just cant wear theSeleçãos shirt during this years World Cup.

Im not going to wear either the green or yellow, she says, not wanting to be confused with Bolsonaros supporters. Shell wear her local teamFlamengos red-and-black jersey instead. Its difficult that a [political] party ended up dominating our T-shirt.

But she says hopefully when Lula takes office in January, more Brazilians will wear the national soccer jersey once again.

A supporter of Brazilian President-elect Luiz Incio Lula da Silva wears a shirt with election campaign stickers during the runoff vote in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 30.Bruna Prado/APhide caption

A supporter of Brazilian President-elect Luiz Incio Lula da Silva wears a shirt with election campaign stickers during the runoff vote in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 30.

President-elect Lulas supporters have been selling their own version of the national jersey in the bright yellow and green colors. It has a small picture of Lula on the front, and a 13 his electioncandidate number on the back.

Vendor Renato Monteiro says hes sold 20,000 of the shirts to Lula voters in the last two months.

Theyre buying it because Bolsonaro thought the symbol was his, but in fact it was not his, it belonged to the people. We rescued the symbol of our homeland, he says from his small stand at a weekend outdoor market in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazils soccer confederation, CBF, is neutral on the political front, butlaunched a campaignto encourage citizens to rally around the jersey and the team. And one of the countrys largest beer companies,Brahma, is urging Brazilians to wear it during the World Cup.

Ronaldo of Brazil celebrates scoring the winning goal during the FIFA World Cup 2002 semi-final match against Turkey played at the Saitama Stadium in Japan on June 26, 2002. Brazil won the match 1-0.Alex Livesey/Getty Imageshide caption

Ronaldo of Brazil celebrates scoring the winning goal during the FIFA World Cup 2002 semi-final match against Turkey played at the Saitama Stadium in Japan on June 26, 2002. Brazil won the match 1-0.

In a country where soccer is practically a religion, maybe there will be a moment when Brazilians can forget what divides them and unite under one color, yellow.

Thursday is their first opportunity of the 2022 World Cup to do so as Brazil plays Serbia in Doha at 2 p.m. EST (4 p.m. Braslia time).