Brazil takes the lead in the ranking of most followers on social media

At least on social media, Brazil can say that it is already in first place. This week, the profile of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Instagram reached 22.5 million followers and became, for the first time in history, leader of the ranking on this platform.

First place belonged, some years ago, to Portugal, driven, it is true, by the media power of Cristiano Ronaldo, who stood at 21.9 million followers.

The growth of Brazil's profile has occurred since mid-2025, when the CBF announced a change by changing the name of the official profile from "CBF" to "Brazil". At first glance, it seemed like a negligible change, but experts point out that going from "@cbf_futebol" to "@brasil" meant many impacts, in the field of business and marketing.

Proof of this is that this year alone, the Brazilian team gained almost three million followers, more than one million during the month of May alone. Last year, when the profile name changed, CBF had 18 million followers.

For the entity, the objective is clear: to seek the internationalization of the profile in search of fans from other continents and those less familiar with national football acronyms, in addition to making the account more accessible and attractive.

For experts, this increase proves progress, unlike what was happening a few years ago, when the profile was even losing subscribers.

"Changing the profile name was just the first step in a much broader internationalization process. Changing the @ facilitates recognition outside of Brazil, but does not generate traction in itself, it is necessary to sustain the movement with consistent campaigns, content production in different languages, regional partnerships and narratives that emotionally connect with new audiences. Digital internationalization does not happen with a one-off rebranding, but with frequency, coherence and investment in local culture", reinforced Wagner Leitzke, head of digital at Agência End to End.

In addition to Brazil, the one who recently made a similar move was the England team, which was renamed @england on Instagram and has 12.4 million followers.

"Changes that make it easier for fans, especially those on other continents, are always important, and that is what the CBF seeks by changing the @ to Brazil. It is already a movement made by the England team, and the numbers show that accounts with accessible names are more recognized and followed, in addition to bringing a wide range of institutional and commercial gains. This growth in times of social networks is fundamental, but it is valid to say that they must be accompanied by creative actions and content that can attract different types of public. But this change is already another path to success for the entity", says Joaquim Lo Prete, General Manager of Absolut Sport, a sports experience agency, in Brazil.

"The most famous team in the world, owner of the yellow shirt that is intertwined with the history of football itself, has always been a global symbol but for a long time it was no longer treated as a global product. This step by the CBF was fundamental to repositioning this iconic brand at the height of its global relevance, even though the name change alone is not enough: an ecosystem of content, language and relationships is needed that actually speaks to the global public", said Ivan Martinho, professor of sports marketing at ESPM.

Argentina, current world champion, continues with a similar name to Brazil, alluding to the confederation, in this case, @afaseleccion. Currently, the country has 14.6 million followers.

Among the other major teams in the world, France has an account as @equipedefrance and 16.9 million followers. The one in Germany is perhaps one of the most confusing, and even for that reason, the one with the fewest followers - 7.2 million in total, with the name @dfb_team. Italy is named after @azzurri and has 6.4 million. The profile of the Spanish National Team is also difficult to find by people of other nationalities (@sefutbol), and only has 7.4 million followers.

"Eleven out of ten" people outside Brazil don't know what the acronym meant, and even the profile of the Portuguese confederation, which is from a country with a population that is not a tenth of ours, has more followers, using the name of the country. It's not an innovation, but a valid initiative, which replicates what has already worked with others", points out Thiago Freitas, COO of Roc Nation Sports in Brazil, a North American entertainment company.

"Despite the new management's short period of time, the CBF has been making important changes on several topics. The signal is clear, there is an ongoing strategy to bring fans closer together, to restore the pride of supporting Brazil. The intentions seem to me to be the best possible. However, the strategy to be used in my opinion should be medium to long term. Due to previous reckless management, it is normal for fans to be left behind", concludes Fábio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports and specialist in sports marketing.

Interest in Brazilian football is also reflected on live scores platforms. According to data from "Flashscore", between January and February 2026, Endrick appears as the Brazilian player called up with the highest number of views on his profile among platform users around the world, with almost 8.4 million visits. Vinicius Junior comes next, with 7.3 million, and Igor Thiago - one of the surprises on Carlo Ancelotti's list - received 6.6 million views. Other names such as Raphinha and Neymar are also among the most viewed. The cut reinforces how international interest in these athletes is directly linked to the selection cycle and expectations surrounding the tournament, with young promises and already established players concentrating much of the digital attention.

"Brazilian players remain among the most valuable assets in world football, also in the digital environment. We observed that athletes selected for the next World Cup concentrate a significant portion of global attention on the platform, reflecting both current performance and expectations surrounding the National Team. The closer we get to the tournament, the more fans want to understand what could happen, and find our data and insights a relevant basis for their analysis. They are athletes who combine high-level performance with strong international appeal, which boosts their reach and engagement among fans from different countries", said Alexandre Vasconcellos, regional director of Flashscore in Brazil.

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Source: CNN