Brazil: A Brief History of the Federation and Its Kit

The Brazil National Football Team has enjoyed unrivaled success in international play. With a record five World Cup Championships (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002), they are the only nation to have competed in every World Cup since the tournament's inception in 1930. On their home continent of South America they have won eight Copa América Titles, second to Uruguay and Argentina, each of whom winning fourteen. Brazil is the reigning Confederations Cup Champion, after overcoming a 2 goal halftime deficit to defeat the US National Soccer Team to win their third title in 2009. Such is the acclaim and talent for football of the Brazilian nation that it has bore the phrase "The English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it".

The breadth of talented footballers the nation of Brazil has spawned is staggering: Kaká, Robinho, Luís Fabiano, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Romário, Jairzinho, and of course, the great, Pelé. Widely regarded as one of the greatest to ever play the game, Pelé was voted Football Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics in 1999. The same year Pelé came in second in ESPN's voting for Athlete of the Century, behind only Muhammed Ali. At the tender age of 16 Pelé led Brazil to their first World Cup Championship in 1958, and is the only player to be a member of three World Cup championship squads.

A Closer Look at the Brazil Kit and Other Brazil Merchandise

For roughly the first 40 years, Brazil's Home Kit featured a white home shirt with a blue collar. However, following a defeat at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, this design received criticism for lack of patriotism. The Federation then authorised a newspaper competition to design a new Brazil Home Kit incorporation the four colours of the Brazilian flag. The winning design was submitted by a 19-year-old from Pelotas, and featured a yellow home shirt with green trim and blue home shorts with white trim. The new home kit was premiered in 1954 in a match against Chile and has been in use ever since.

Brazil's away kit has been predominantly blue since the 1930's, with blue becoming the standard by accident at the 1958 World Cup Final. With Sweden, also in yellow, as their opponent, and traveling with no alternate kit, Brazil cut the crests from their home shirts and sewed them on to a set of hurriedly purchased blue shirts. Blue has been the standard away shirt colour ever since.

The Brazil crest bears 5 stars arching proudly over the team shield, representing its 5 World Cup Championships. At the centre are the letters CBF for Confederaçao Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation). Like the Brazil Kit itself, Brazil's crest utilizes the four colours of the Brazil flag: green, yellow, blue and white.

Consistently ranked the world's top football nation, the days of Brazilian players hastily assembling kits on the sidelines before matches are long gone. Contracted with Nike since 1997, there is now plenty of official Brazil apparel to meet the needs of the federation and fans alike. Official Brazil Shirts, Brazil T-Shirts, Brazil Caps, and Brazil Jackets, are all widely available through Nike to meet the demands of Brazil’s worldwide fan base.