Why Jordan Brand and Brazil Are the Perfect Pairing

Five stars and six rings. Two symbols that represent the pinnacle of greatness in their respective fields. Six rings, of course, refers to Michael Jordan’s undefeated championship record in the NBA, and five stars represents Brazil’s five World Cup trophies, the most for any nation in history.

On Thursday, March 12, the Brazilian Football Federation and Jordan Brand announced an official deal that will see the club wearing a Jumpman on the pitch during the World Cup this summer. It marks the first time Jordan Brand has partnered with a global football federation, signaling a brand new chapter for the Jumpman in global football.

“The next step is really to connect with the global football community on the world’s largest stage, which is the World Cup,” Jordan Brand President Sarah Mensah tells Complex. “So when we think about doing that and who is the partner that makes the most sense to do that on that world’s largest stage is clearly the Brazilian Federation.”

The entire collection, both on and off the pitch, combines aesthetics from both Jordan and Brazilian legacies. Streetwear apparel designer Liv Bolung explains how piping from MJ’s signature tracksuits was combined with the iconic flared lines from Brazil’s 2002 World Cup kits to create a look distinctly unique for this moment. Bolung’s partner in the project, Mackenzie Sam, points out a key hidden detail on the crest of the kit; a textured elephant print pattern that can only be seen when the light hits it just right.

Mensah says that in the early stages of planning for the partnership, the brand “dabbled” with key Brazilian football stakeholders the likes of Ronaldinho, Neymar Jr., and Vini Jr., who only validated the authenticity of the pairing. “For every kid in Brazil who dreams with a ball at their feet, this partnership means something huge,” Vini Jr. says. “Jordan Brand and our Seleção coming together is more than football—it’s culture, joy, and greatness united. When the Jumpman stands next to our colors, it shows the world the creativity, passion, and energy that make Brazil special.” Both the accompanying apparel collection and away kits are now available at Jordan.com and other digital channels as well as brick and mortar locations. To learn more about the partnership, why Jordan is stepping into global football, and more read the full interview with Sarah Mensah from Sao Paolo, Brazil below. It has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

We’re here in Brazil for an incredible new partnership between Jordan and the Brazilian national team. Why Brazil and why now?
Well, first of all, why not Brazil? I mean, when you’re thinking about authentically speaking to football culture, I don’t think there’s any better opportunity, any better federation that we could consider partnering with than Brazil. I mean, they’re literally synonymous with greatness within football culture. And so as the brand that is also synonymous with greatness, look for what is the natural right partner to really multiply that idea of greatness. It just makes perfect sense.

There’s so many Brazilian guys like Neymar Jr. who obviously has had history with the brand, but then other guys like Vini and Ronaldino that also very much fit within the Jordan Brand. It makes a lot of sense. Were you thinking about that on an individual level at all when you created this partnership?
I mean, obviously there were dabblings early with those individuals. All those individuals really did help us validate that this is really an authentic space to be. And because all of those examples that you use really represent people who wanted to elevate their own personal game within the overall game. And that’s literally what the Jordan Brand is all about. Michael Jordan helped elevate the overall game of basketball by being his unique and authentic self. And so there’s something really special about the individuals that we’ve kind of partnered with and that see themselves in this brand and in the brand of Brazilian football.

The Jumpman has been on the pitch before with PSG, obviously, but this feels like a new chapter in that and a leveling up—representing an entire country, an entire federation. Would you agree with that? Is this that next step in Jordan for football, global football?
The next step is really to connect with the global football community on the world’s largest stage, which is the World Cup. So when we think about doing that and who is the partner that makes the most sense to do that on that world’s largest stage is clearly the Brazilian Federation. So it’s a momentous opportunity, a momentous sort of partnership, and hopefully one that will extend far beyond this moment.

What has their reaction been to the partnership, getting to wear that Jumpman on their jersey? Like you said, during the World Cup, there’s going to be a Jumpman on the field. That’s unprecedented. What has the Brazilian national team’s reaction to that been?
We’ve just been very, very respectful. We’ve wanted to really go slow so that we can go fast. We’ve been taking their insights. We’ve been paying very close attention to the athlete. We know at Jordan that Nike, when we listen to the voice of the athlete, we most often get it right. So it was really important for us to spend time with the team, with its athletes, and get the right insights so that we can do this in a way that’s going to stand the test of time.

The Jordan Brand is of course dominant in basketball, football, baseball, etc, but we also see it pop-up in unexpected places like on Brazil’s away kits, on the links, in Nascar, etc. Is it a source of pride that the Jordan Brand shows up in so many different places?
So authenticity is really what’s driving what looks like unexpected popping up, but it’s really very, very intentional. Most of the places where Jordan is showing up are places where Michael Jordan himself, our founder, has authentic and deep connections and commitments. And so in the case of global football, again, it’s all around those early relationships that were formed, where athletes that are in global football really are resonating and playing at a level that’s similar to MJ and that are inspired by what this Jumpman means as a symbol of greatness—that they’ve actually used that symbol as a way to elevate their own game. So wherever there’s that authentic kind of connection and resonance is where you can expect the Jordan Brand to be showing up.

As we get further and further away from Michael’s playing days, these young kids are starting to come up not really resonating with Michael in a way that my generation did or a generation above us did. So they don’t have that first person connection that a lot of us do have with Michael. How does Jordan continue to teach these kids who he is? A lot of people probably know the Jumpman silhouette more than they know Michael, the person. So how does Jordan Brand continue to educate these kids on what the Jordan Brand means?
I think it’s okay that people didn’t see Michael Jordan play. What I think is important is that kids nowadays understand that rocking the Jumpman or putting that Jumpman on either a jersey or on a shoe really represents elevating your personal greatness or your personal commitment to something. It means you’re really digging deep and reaching for something that’s bigger from yourself. I don’t think you needed to see MJ play in order to understand that this logo, this mark, is a calling for people anywhere in any country, in any community to really dig deep and find that greatness within themselves. And so that’s what gives us confidence that the Jordan Brand is going to not only just transcend basketball, but really transcend sport, transcend culture, and really continue to resonate in an authentic way with consumers for years and years to come.

Bringing it back to football, outside of the Brazilian partnership we’ve seen, there’s football boots on the way, and there’s lifestyle football sneakers on the way from the Jordan Brand as well. What type of foothold is Jordan looking to make in global football?
Well, it always starts first and foremost with authenticity. So I think wherever consumers want to understand the balance of the world of lifestyle and the world of sport and where they come together in what we call the solo sport culture, that’s where you can find us. And so whether it’s a product that you can use uniquely for performance, it needs to also be stylish and meaningful. If it’s a product that is mainly meant for lifestyle and for you to actually express your flair and your individual swag, we want to be there as well. So we’re always going to be living at that balance. It can’t be that we are showing up just in performance. It can’t be that we’re showing up just in lifestyle. It needs to be where those two things meet, which is where you’ll find the Jordan Brand moving forward in global football.

We’re in the beginning of this partnership. It also seems like the beginning of Jordan Brand’s major presence in global football. Three, four, five years down the road from now, where do you see Jordan and global football?
I think, first and foremost, really that you could say that we, just like we did in basketball, that we changed the game. That we identified a unique community that needed the position that the Jordan Brand is going to uniquely occupy, and that we occupied it, and took the games that were completely new.