Why does Brazil's football team wear yellow?
First, let me give you the answer in 30 seconds.Brazil played in white until 1950. In 1953 a newspaper held a contest for a new design, and a young designer's yellow shirt, using the colours of the national flag, won. It was first worn in 1954 and became the yellow kit we know today.
White kits in the old days
Brazil's national football (soccer) team is famous for its yellow shirt, but it was not always yellow. According to the Football Museum (Museu do Futebol) in São Paulo, which collects material on Brazilian football, the team used to take the field in white.
The 1953 design contest
The turning point was the 1950 World Cup, which Brazil hosted. In a big match against Uruguay at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's dream of a first title was put off for later. In 1953, the Rio de Janeiro newspaper Correio da Manhã invited designs for a new team kit. The Brazilian sports paper Lance says the paper worked with the football federation of the time (the CBD). The rule was to use the four colours of the national flag: green, yellow, blue and white.
The winning design
From hundreds of entries, the winner was a design by Aldyr Garcia Schlee. He lived in southern Brazil, close to the border with Uruguay. His kit was a canary-yellow shirt with a green collar and cuffs, blue shorts with a white stripe, and white socks. All four colours of the flag are in it.
Yellow from 1954
The new kit was first worn in 1954. The yellow of the shirt is one of the flag's colours that the contest required. Ever since, the canary-yellow shirt has been the face of the Brazilian team and is known around the world.
Want to know more?
- Schlee, the winner, received prize money and a training placement at the newspaper, according to the Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil.
- Schlee later worked as a writer, translator and university teacher, and published more than 12 books.
Quick quiz: test yourself
How was Brazil's yellow shirt chosen?
Show the answer
- A newspaper's design contest
- A vote by the players
- A discussion among federation officials
A newspaper's design contest In 1953 a newspaper invited designs, and a young designer's kit using the flag's colours was chosen.
In 1953 a newspaper invited designs, and a young designer's kit using the flag's colours was chosen.
Next quiz ›Sources
- The History of the Canarinho Shirt: How the yellow-gold came to dress BrazilMuseu do Futebol (Football Museum, São Paulo)
- Por que a Seleção Brasileira usa camisa amarela?Lance!
- Morre Aldyr Schlee, criador da camisa da seleção brasileiraJornal do Brasil
This article was written after checking the sources above as of 2026-10-03. Explanations may change as research progresses. Photo credits are shown below each photo.
