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Brazil will feature the number 24 on the pitch during World Cup 2026. And that carries a message

June 11, 2026

Brazil's national football team is fielding a player wearing jersey number 24 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, challenging a long-standing cultural taboo in Brazilian soccer. The number has historically been avoided because it corresponds to "veado" (deer) in an illegal lottery game called "jogo do bicho," where the term also serves as slang for gay people and was used as a derogatory reference. After activists sued the Brazilian Football Confederation in 2021 for discrimination, the country included its first number 24 player at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and now Roger Ibañez will wear it in 2026.

Who is affected

  • The LGBTQ+ community in Brazil, particularly gay people who have been associated with the number 24 slur
  • Roger Ibañez, the 27-year-old defender wearing number 24 at the 2026 World Cup
  • Gleison Bremer, who wore number 24 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup
  • The Arco-Íris activist group that filed the 2021 lawsuit
  • Youth players in the Copinha São Paulo under-18 competition
  • LGBTQ+ fan collectives within Brazilian football clubs
  • The Coletivo de Torcidas Canarinhos LGBTQ+, which monitors discrimination
  • Historical groups like Coligay, the pioneering LGBTQ+ fan group from the 1970s

What action is being taken

  • Roger Ibañez is wearing jersey number 24 for Brazil's national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
  • The Observatory of LGBTphobia in Football is monitoring cases of discrimination
  • The Observatory analyzed and reported on number 24 usage in the Copinha São Paulo 2025 under-18 competition

Why it matters

  • Football holds immense cultural significance in Brazil as a unifying national identity across a geographically diverse country, making it a powerful platform for social change. The historical avoidance of number 24 represents institutionalized homophobia embedded within Brazilian sports culture, denying LGBTQ+ identity and perpetuating discrimination from youth levels upward. By having players wear the number at major international tournaments like the World Cup, Brazil challenges deeply rooted prejudices and signals potential progress in combating LGBTphobia. As journalist Onã Rudá notes, football has social responsibility and can serve as a catalyst for addressing discrimination, gender violence, and other social issues affecting Brazilian society.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices