Botafogo “Dia da Consciência Negra” Shirt 2021

Botafogo “Dia da Consciência Negra” Shirt 2021
March 22, 2022 153 view(s)
Botafogo “Dia da Consciência Negra” Shirt 2021

From the outside it might seem perverse that there is a problem with institutional racism in Brazil. If you think of your favourite Brazilian footballer, chances are they are, at least partly,  of African descent. Neymar, Coutinho, Adriano, Sócrates, of course Pelé and the three Rs of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo - the list is near endless. The Seleção wouldn't be the most successful team in International football without their players of African or mixed heritage.

 

 

However, a study by Observatório da Discriminação Racial no Futebol (the Observatory of Racial Discrimination in Football) found an increase in incidences between 2018 - 2019 of 70% (150 cases in total). Across all sports in the country, football accounts for 90% of all recorded cases of descrimination - with two-thirds of which is due to racism. Like elsewhere across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the disparities of the provision of healthcare to people of different races in Brazil. In a study by the European Journal of Public Health the pandemic contributed to a 20% increase in expected deaths in Brazil in 2020. Of which there was a 26% increase for “blacks/browns” compared to 15% for “whites” , approximately an extra 50 people per 100,000. This led to a  Brazilian congressional panel to recommend that President Bolsonaro be charged with “crimes against humanity” for ochestrating a systematic genocide of the country’s indigenous and black population.

 

  

 

The medical journal The Lancet described the public health emergency facing black people in Brazil as “As a disease” that “affects the physical and mental well-being of the black population.” Botafogo themselves affirm that “Racism, discrimination and rejection generate mental problems. The chance of suicide is 50% higher among black male youths and adolescents, while the risk of developing depression is 45% higher in the black population, according to data from the booklet Deaths by Suicide among Black Adolescents and Youths, released by the Ministry of Health. Health. Racism also causes kidney problems. A study by the National Kidney Foundation of the United States points out that kidney failure among blacks is three times greater than among whites, while black patients represent 35% of all those who need dialysis. Other health damages are also greater in the black population, such as the inflammation rate in African Americans (50% higher), according to the Vigitel 2018 survey - Black Population.”

 

“The fight against racism belongs to the whole of society, and Botafogo's involvement in the anti-racist fight is very important, because through football clubs, voices are amplified and reach all layers of society. And here in this action there is an important reflection, which reinforces how much racism sickens the black population. Racism kills, causes inequality and makes you sick – and this needs to be increasingly discussed by everyone”, says Marcelo Carvalho, director and creator of the Observatório do Racism no Futebol.

 

 

 

With this in mind multivitamin brand Centrum teamed up with the Rio de Janeiro club to launch a campaign created by the sports marketing agency Owly called “Racismo: o vírus da desigualdade estrutural” (Racism: the virus of structural inequality.) To bring attention to the campaign Botafogo’s shirt manufacturer Kappa created a kit to be worn on the fixture closest to Dia da Consciência Negra (Black Awareness Day) on the 20th November. Similar to Black History month in the US the day aims to "to celebrate a regained awareness by the black community about their great worth and contribution to the country.”

 

 

 

The shirt was christened the “Manto da Denúncia da Inigualdade” (Shirt of the denounciation of Inequality) and saw Botafogo’s iconic “alvinegra” stripes form a bar chart representing statistics that highlight the effects of institutional discrimination has on the health of the black population of Brazil. The statistics from Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Observatórios da Segurança & Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada amongst other sources include:

 

  • Just 27% of the richest are black
  • 61% of female murder victims are black
  • Only 10% of the students in the 20 best schools in Brazil are black
  • 56.2% of Brazil's population is black
  • Only 18% of doctors in Brazil are black
  • 75% of murder victims are black
  • Only 27% of medical students are black

 

 

The shirt's composition was changed from equally spaced black & white stripes to a majority-white shirt paired with white shorts and socks to “demonstrate how inequality not only imposes itself, but also oppresses the black population in Brazil.” The club’s usual shirt sponsor Estrelabet happily gave up its place on the shirt to Centrum and also helped spread the campaign across its channels. Centrum sent out kits with content to be shared by their digital influencer partners. Juan Katz, Marketing Director at GSK (owners of Centrum brand) Consumer Healthcare in Brazil said “Our purpose as a company is to deliver the best health every day with humanity. And we seek to put it into practice through every initiative of our brands. This time, based on the partnership with Botafogo, we used the reach of the most popular sport on the planet to alert society about the impact of racial discrimination on the health and well-being of the black population. We need to keep in mind that prevention starts with a change in attitude” Rafael Jones, Head of Media, Digital and Agencies at GSK Consumer Healthcare Brazil, citing data from Instituto Locomotiva added “The campaign's objective is to once again turn to football, a true national passion capable of impacting hundreds of thousands of fans across Brazil, to take a few steps forward in the fight against racism. A long way, but necessary, since although 84% of Brazilians claim to perceive racism, only 4% admit to being racist”

 

 

The kit was worn in “Fogo’s” away Série B match against Brasil de Pelotas on 21st November 2021. All of the shirts used in the game were autographed by the players (including former Manchester United fullback Rafael Pereira da Silva as an unused substitute) and auctioned on www.matchwornshirts.com with all profit going to Observatório da Discriminação Racial no Futebol. Ricardo Levy, president of Owly and creative director of the campaign said “We created a campaign that seeks to draw attention to racism in a way that has never been explored before in the field of sport. To strengthen a message against racism, discrimination and racial inequality, we used the design of the classic Botafogo shirt, an iconic piece recognized by all Brazilian football lovers. We redesigned its black and white stripes to spoltlight how much discrimination is still imposed and damages the health of the black population”,

 

 

 

All of this is part of Botafogo’s larger Botafogo Seguro (Safe Botafogo) project that aims to “protect life on and off the field” by promoting COVID-19 prevention, including a drive-in testing centre at their Nilton Santos Stadium capable of testing thousands of people a day. Sérgio Cimerman, a doctor at the Emílio Ribas Institute stated “based on the analysis of the stadium, it can be a pilot for all other Brazilian clubs when the public return is allowed, benefiting all fans in the country.”

 

Check out our Botafogo collection here

 

Previous article:
Next article: