World Cup: how football shirts became political in Latin America | OneFootball

Football shirts have become political props across Latin America, crystallised by Colombia’s new far-right president Abelardo de la Espriella wearing the national jersey to celebrate victory in Bogota during the World Cup. The gesture sparked a legal row.

L'Équipe reports that his yellow top was customised with the slogan “Firme por la patria” and an El Tigre logo. He wore it throughout his campaign, and four days after Colombia’s 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, rival Ivan Cepeda, political heir to outgoing left-wing president Gustavo Petro, went to court.

A judge first backed Cepeda, calling the shirt a symbol of national unity that should not be used politically. On 11 June, an appeal accepted a fundamental right to wear it, allowing De la Espriella to keep the jersey.

Beyond Colombia, Ecuador’s president Daniel Noboa often dons La Tri colours, and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro did so between 2019 and 2023. Analyst Yann Basset says presidents who do not are rarer, while sociologist Juan Pablo Silva notes the jersey projects unity in nations hungry for identity.

Shirts pervade public life, and many Colombians even voted in theirs. In Paraguay last week, the Supreme Court barred justice officials from wearing the national jersey for institutional neutrality.

The left has used them too. In March 2025, Argentina’s three-star shirt fronted anti-Milei protests.

The trend is edging into Europe. On 10 June, La France Insoumise launched its own Bleus shirt, marked LFI under the rooster with Mélenchon 27, and claims nearly 15,000 sales in two weeks.

Source: L'Équipe