Brazilian top-flight club wear name of English fan with MND on shirts

Image source, Mariana Toneti / CoritibaImage caption,

Coritiba won the Brazilian top flight title in 1985 and has won 39 Paranaense State titles

ByAlex BrothertonBBC Sport journalist

Published44 minutes ago

When the players of Brazilian team Coritiba walked out of the tunnel for their league match against Chapecoense on Saturday evening, their shirts looked a little different.

Rather than the usual front-of-shirt sponsor, the kits were adorned with the name of English fan Jonny Butcher, to raise awareness of motor neurone disease (MND).

The 29-year-old from Norwich was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a form of MND - in February.

MND is an incurable condition that damages parts of the nervous system, destroying motor neurones (specialist nerve cells) in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscles to weaken, waste away and eventually stop working.

A Norwich City fan since childhood, Butcher took an interest in Brazilian Serie A club Coritiba for two reasons.

In March 2023 he met his wife and Coritiba native Ana Clara on a Christian dating app, and a few months later he visited her in Brazil and fell in love with the city.

By incredible coincidence, Norwich City and Coritiba formed a strategic partnership in 2022, so adopting the Brazilian club seemed natural.

The couple married in 2024, but in February Butcher's diagnosis turned their lives upside down.

Jonny and Ana Clara Butcher outside Coritiba's stadium

Image source, Ana Clara ButcherImage caption,

Jonny and Ana Clara tried to attend a Coritiba match in 2023 but were unable to find tickets for the sold-out fixture

Butcher made a bucket list of things he wanted to experience while he still could, and among them was attending a Coritiba match at their Couto Pereira stadium with his brother-in-law.

While breathing difficulties and a loss of mobility have prevented that, Coritiba heard about Butcher's story and decided to honour him before their Serie A win against Chapocoense.

As well as bearing his name, the front of the players' shirts read: "Your strength inspires us. We stand as one."

Incorporated into the design was a sunflower, the international symbol of awareness for non-visible disabilities.

Following the Brazilian national anthem, the players posed with a banner bearing Butcher's name and the signatures of Coritiba fans, players and staff.

"We sat there watching it all from England, completely overwhelmed and honestly struggling to believe that this was really happening," Ana Clara told BBC Sport.

"To see Jonny's name inside Couto Pereira, surrounded by thousands of people who had never even met him but chose to stand behind him, was incredibly emotional."

Coritiba said some of the shirts will be sent to Butcher's family and an institution that provides assistance for people with rare diseases, including MND.

"Last night Jonny said he wishes he could shake every hand and tell each person individually what this meant to him," added Ana Clara.

"We may never be able to properly express our gratitude, but we hope they know that this is something we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

"Even in the hardest chapter of our lives, there is still so much love and kindness in the world. This will forever be a part of our story."