World Cup and presidential runoff: How Colombia鈥檚 yellow jersey got political
| Mexico City
The yellow jersey of Colombia鈥檚 national soccer team is meant to be one of the country鈥檚 safest symbols: a shirt people wear to cheer, celebrate, and briefly forget politics 鈥� especially in a World Cup year.
But as Colombia heads into both its World Cup opener and a presidential runoff this week, the shirt has taken on a political meaning many fans never asked for.
Right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who led the first-round presidential election with 43% of the vote, has made Colombia鈥檚 soccer jersey one of the most visible images of his campaign. He first urged supporters to dress in yellow for his closing rally in Barranquilla, his adopted hometown and the home of Colombia鈥檚 national team, then wore the shirt onstage while celebrating his first-round lead. His campaign has drawn public support from former national team stars.
Why We Wrote This
Colombia plays its first game in the World Cup and votes for its next president this week. Its national soccer jersey has ended up stuck in the middle.
The jersey fits into a broader patriotic brand built around the word patria, or homeland. Mr. de la Espriella鈥檚 movement is called Defensores de la Patria, or Defenders of the Homeland, and his slogan, 鈥渟teadfast for the homeland,鈥� evokes both national pride and his promised hard line on security.
That has angered his left-wing opponent, Sen. Iv谩n Cepeda, who says the shirt belongs to all Colombians. Mr. Cepeda asked the Colombian Football Federation to restrict use of the jersey in the campaign, arguing that it should be treated as a national symbol rather than political merchandise. But the federation said it does not take political positions and does not distribute the shirt.
The fight escalated when a Bogot谩 judge ordered Mr. de la Espriella鈥檚 campaign to stop using the jersey and other patriotic symbols in campaign activities. Mr. de la Espriella responded defiantly, saying he would not comply. A higher court later eased the restriction, but by then the fight had already turned this shared symbol into a contested one.
The timing could hardly be more sensitive. Colombia begins its World Cup run on June 17, just days before voters choose between Mr. de la Espriella and Mr. Cepeda in a bitter runoff on June 21.
Colombian politicians have used the national team jersey before, especially because presidential campaigns have previously overlapped with the World Cup. What is different this year is how explicitly the shirt has become tied to one candidate鈥檚 patriotic brand in a highly polarized race.
The shift became personal for Mar铆a Centeno, a Colombian voter from Bucaramanga, when she went to cast her ballot in the first-round presidential vote two weeks ago. She had thought about wearing her Colombia jersey that day, then decided against it.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to wear it because I don鈥檛 want people to label me as far right,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t feels like they鈥檙e stealing something from us ... another part of Colombian identity.鈥�
Supporters of Mr. de la Espriella see the controversy differently. Alejandro Filauri, a voter in Bogot谩 who describes himself as right-leaning, says no campaign or court should be able to tell people when they can wear the national-team shirt.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 police patriotism,鈥� Mr. Filauri says.
To him, the backlash only made the shirt a more powerful tool for Mr. de la Espriella鈥檚 campaign. If Mr. Cepeda鈥檚 side had ignored it, he says, the jersey might have remained just another World Cup symbol. Instead, opponents 鈥渄id him a favor.鈥�
The fallout around the canary-yellow jersey shows the risks of arguing over a symbol meant to unite Colombians, says Yann Basset, a political scientist at Universidad del Rosario in Bogot谩. Mr. Cepeda may have been better off wearing the shirt himself from the beginning, Dr. Basset says.
Mr. Cepeda soon shifted his strategy. At an event where he received support from dozens of Colombian soccer-fan groups, he argued the jersey 鈥渞epresents us as a nation.鈥� But, he added, Colombians could not allow anyone to 鈥渟teal it鈥� from them 鈥� a direct reference to Mr. de la Espriella.
The fight carries echoes of events in Brazil, where supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro turned the national team鈥檚 yellow-and-green jersey into a marker of right-wing nationalism. In 2022, Brazil鈥檚 presidential election unfolded just before the Qatar World Cup, leaving many fans questioning what their jersey represented.
Dr. Basset sees Mr. de la Espriella borrowing from that playbook, along with the style of other populist leaders in the region.
It鈥檚 proven an effective strategy because national team jerseys carry ready-made emotion including pride and belonging, Dr. Basset says.
And the jersey as a symbol couldn鈥檛 arrive at a better time for the election鈥檚 frontrunner 鈥� just at the Colombian team鈥檚 kickoff.
