The color of the Brazilian national soccer team's jersey is becoming the focus of a political battle: could it be red?

The green and yellow of the Brazilian national soccer team's jersey no longer holds the power it once did: the country's growing and polarized political dispute is leading large segments of the population to reject the national team and the option of a red jersey to emerge.

Brazil in red "would be a crime," said legendary football commentator Galvao Bueno , but in the view of many, the "crime" could be in the making.

The specialized website "Footy Headlines" reported a few days ago that the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is in the process of reaching an agreement with Michael Jordan 's sportswear line, Jordan Brand, which is part of Nike, so that the away jersey will be red starting in 2026, replacing the usual blue.

The CBF denied this in a statement, but cited formalities such as the circulating images of the new jersey "not being official."

The issue is the subject of heated debate in Brazil, because the five-time world champions' "seleçao" have rarely been so low in terms of popular support.

On the one hand, the national team is impacted by poor results of recent times, defeats to its arch-rival Argentina, and failure in the World Cup, where it last won in Korea/Japan in 2002.

But the biggest problem facing the Brazilian national team is political. Years ago, the identification of Neymar and the vast majority of the "canarinha" players with then-President Jair Bolsonaro generated rejection from those who couldn't tolerate the leader of Brazil's far-right.

Added to this was the constant use by Bolsonaro and his supporters of the national team's green-and-yellow jersey. Little by little, a symbol of the country's unity began to transform into a symbol of disunity.

The possibility that the away shirt will be red does not, however, help to resolve the issue, because the color is identified with the ruling left, the Workers' Party (PT) of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva .

In 1917 and 1937, during two South American championships, Brazil had to play in red due to force majeure, but almost no one in the country remembers that anecdote anymore.

The defenders of "Brazil Vermelho," quoted by "Footy Headlines," appeal to Brazil's very origins: "The country's name comes from 'Pau-Brasil,' a native tree famous for its intense red dye, highly prized by the Portuguese colonizers. In that sense, 'Brazil' literally means 'red' in the historical context."