On the eve of the national holiday of Black Consciousness Day, the CBF brought forward the celebrations in Salvador, during the game between Brazil and Uruguay, at the Arena Fonte Nova Stadium. Striker Vinícius Júnior was honored with an ancestry certificate, revealing that his ancestors come from Cameroon, belonging to the Tikar people. Excited, the player expressed happiness upon discovering his African origins and highlighted the importance of this connection. The ceremony was organized as part of the CBF’s Golden Roots campaign, which aims to strengthen Afro-descendant pride in Brazil.
The identification of Vinícius Júnior’s ancestry was carried out through a DNA test, conducted by the company African Ancestry, specialized in the genetic tracking of African descendants. The player’s father, Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira, shared his enthusiasm with the discovery, highlighting the value of this reconnection with his son’s roots. The CBF campaign aims to inspire Brazilians of African descent to celebrate their origins and recognize the contribution of African culture to the construction of national identity.
In addition to the tribute, the CBF released a film about Afro-descendant ancestry and displayed a photo of Vinícius Júnior next to the flags of Brazil and Cameroon on the facade of its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The event also coincided with the debut of FIFA’s anti-racist gesture in Brazil, introduced during the Brazil x Uruguay game. The gesture, symbolized by the crossing of arms in the shape of an “X”, aims to signal cases of racist abuse to the referee, offering a formal and disciplinary response to incidents of racism in world football.
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