Colombia's soccer jersey isn't just about sports. It's become a symbol of political division

Sen. Iván Cepeda, the candidate for Colombia’s ruling party and an ally of President Gustavo Petro, this week slammed his rival’s choice of apparel, accusing him of stealing a national symbol.

In a message on social platform X Monday, Cepeda wrote that using the national team’s jersey at political rallies was an “opportunistic act” whose legality should be examined.

“The national (soccer) team belongs to all of us,” said Cepeda, who is representing Petro’s party, the Historical Pact, and came in second place during the first round of voting Sunday. The runoff vote will be held June 21. “Stop stealing things that belong to the entire nation.”

Cepeda, who shows up at campaign rallies wearing dark cardigans and mandarin-collared white shirts, this week asked his supporters to refrain from wearing Colombia’s jersey or any other national symbols at his rallies.

“Let’s run a clean, transparent campaign,” Cepeda said.

De la Espriella, a conservative celebrity lawyer who calls himself “the tiger” has not replied to Cepeda’s comments on the use of jerseys. But members of his campaign are now encouraging supporters to use them as much as possible — as a way to defy Cepeda and Petro’s government.

“This jersey, besides showing support for our players, now also represents the defense of the freedoms that Cepeda wants to take away from us,” Daniel Briceño, a congressman who supports de la Espriella, said in a video.

Echoes of Brazil

The tug-of-war over Colombia’s national jersey echoes recent developments in Brazil, where the country’s famous gold and green jersey was appropriated by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro at the end of last decade.

Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest for plotting a coup after he lost Brazil’s 2022 election, promoted the use of the Brazilian jersey during his rallies and urged his supporters to wear it to polling stations on voting days.

During his second term in office, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sought to reclaim the jersey by wearing it at public events and encouraging his supporters to wear it as well, so that “the colors or Brazil are not taken over by any fascist." Brazilian pop stars aligned with Lula have also donned the soccer shirt at concerts as part of the efforts to reclaim it.

Carlos Andrés Arias, a political marketing consultant in Bogota, said that politicians from Cepeda’s party, including President Petro, have also used Colombia’s yellow jersey at rallies, and in political ads, but less consistently.

He said that de la Espriella benefits from using the jersey because it evokes patriotism, one of the values he promotes at his rallies. De la Espriella has pledged to take a tougher approach to security and end peace talks with rebel groups.

Arias said that Cepeda’s efforts to stop his opponents from using the jersey at political rallies are likely to backfire, because they serve to strengthen the link between de la Espriella’s campaign and the national team’s jersey.

"People will now think that wearing the jersey is a sure way to support de la Espriella,” Arias said.

Colombia’s National Football Federation, which owns the marketing rights to the jerseys, said earlier this week it had no way to control how its shirts are used in non-commercial events, though it expressed regret that they are being used for purposes unrelated to sports.

Raúl Cardona, a volunteer for Cepeda’s campaign in Bogota, said the candidate's supporters will now use the jersey at their own rallies. He added that he has already seen some Cepeda backers wearing Colombia’s national team shirt at recent marches in Bogota.

“We need to democratize the use of the jersey,” Cardona said. “And stop the rival campaign from monopolizing this symbol.”

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