When Brazil was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a wave of commentary on social media pointed to the team’s openly evangelical identity as a possible factor in its downfall.
Pentecostalism’s Expanding Footprint in Latin America
The movement, often labeled as evangélico in Portuguese, now accounts for roughly eleven percent of the region’s population, a figure that pales beside the 676 million adherents recorded in 2026.
Its roots trace back to a 1909 revival led by Willis Hoover, a pioneering missionary whose work laid the groundwork for a transnational network of churches.
Early missionaries such as Luigi Francescon, Daniel Berg, Adolf Gunnar Vingren and William H. Durham carried the message across continents, establishing a foundation that would later blossom into massive congregations.
Brazilian Pentecostalism and Its Institutional Reach
Today, Brazil alone hosts 105 million Pentecostals and Charismatics, making it the world’s largest concentration of the tradition. The Assemblies of God and the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, founded by Edir Macedo in 1977, dominate the landscape, each maintaining an official online presence at assembliesofgod.org and universal.org.
These institutions share marketing tactics with professional soccer clubs, employing charismatic preaching, multimedia outreach and community programs to broaden their appeal, especially among the poor and marginalized.
The overlap becomes especially visible in the sport’s culture; players like Kaká, Lúcio and Edmílson, who were part of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup‑winning squad, have been cited as examples of how faith and football intertwine in the public imagination.
Beyond the pitch, Pentecostal churches often compete with Afro‑Brazilian religious practices, offering a spiritual framework that resonates with those seeking hope and social mobility.
The phenomenon reflects a broader shift in the Global South, where rapid urbanization and digital connectivity have amplified the reach of both religious movements and sports fandoms.