The Brazilian National Team was honored by FIFA at The Best awards ceremony this Monday (15). The ceremony took place in London, England. The Brazilian team received the FIFA Fair Play award.
The Brazilian national team was awarded for their actions in a friendly match against Guinea in June 2023. The recognition was for their stance against racism. In that match, the Brazilian athletes played the first half wearing black uniforms. The friendly match took place after Vinicius Junior was subjected to racism in Spain.
The uniform worn by the team also had a patch with the slogan “com racismo não tem jogo” (there’s no game with racism). Brazil won the friendly match with a score of 4-1. During the game, the players also knelt and sat on the field as a form of protest against racist attitudes.
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Days earlier, forward Vinicius Junior had suffered an episode of racism in a match between Real Madrid and Valencia. The incident sparked a series of reactions in Spain. Part of the crowd at the Mestalla stadium called the Brazilian player “macaco” (monkey).
At Monday’s awards ceremony, Brazilian football idols took to the stage. Roque Júnior, Ronaldo, Júlio Cesar, Belletti, Cafu, and Roberto Carlos were present. Cafu received the award and delivered a speech as the representative of the national team.
The captain of Brazil’s five-time World Cup-winning team emphasized the importance of football as a tool for social inclusion.
“Whenever we talk about social inclusion, we talk about sports, about football. What we are experiencing is an attempt to have equal rights within society,” said Cafu.
“Racism comes from education, and we have this tool, which is football. Let’s use it to integrate society, with everyone having the same rights,” concluded the former right-back.
