Brazilian Club Coritiba Honors English Fan with MND Through Shirt Tribute and Awareness Campaign
核心洞察
Brazilian Serie A club Coritiba (搜索) replaced their front-of-shirt sponsor with the name of Jonny Butcher, a 29-year-old English fan diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (搜索) (ALS) in February.
The tribute took place during Coritiba (搜索)'s league match against Chapecoense, with shirts bearing the message "Your strength inspires us. We stand as one" alongside a sunflower symbol for non-visible disabilities.
Butcher, a Norwich City fan, was unable to attend the match due to breathing difficulties and loss of mobility, but watched from England with his wife Ana Clara, who described the gesture as "incredibly emotional."
When the players of Brazilian Serie A club Coritiba (搜索) walked onto the pitch for their league match against Chapecoense on Saturday evening, their kits carried an unusual and deeply personal tribute. In place of the standard front-of-shirt sponsor, the jerseys bore the name of Jonny Butcher, a 29-year-old English fan from Norwich who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (搜索) (ALS) — a form of motor neurone disease (搜索) (MND) — in February of this year.
The gesture was designed to raise awareness of MND, an incurable condition that damages parts of the nervous system by destroying motor neurones — specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord — causing muscles to weaken, waste away, and eventually stop functioning.
A Transatlantic Connection Forged by Love and Football
Butcher's connection to Coritiba (搜索) began through a remarkable series of coincidences. A lifelong Norwich City supporter, he met his wife Ana Clara, a native of Curitiba, on a Christian dating app in March 2023. Months later, he visited her in Brazil and developed an affection for the city. By a stroke of serendipity, Norwich City and Coritiba had formed a strategic partnership in 2022, making Butcher's adoption of the Brazilian club feel entirely natural.
The couple married in 2024, but Butcher's diagnosis in February turned their lives upside down. He subsequently created a bucket list of experiences he hoped to have while still able, and attending a Coritiba (搜索) match at the iconic Couto Pereira stadium with his brother-in-law was among his top wishes. However, breathing difficulties and progressive loss of mobility ultimately prevented the trip.
A Stadium-Wide Show of Solidarity
Upon learning of Butcher's story, Coritiba (搜索) decided to honor him ahead of their Serie A victory against Chapecoense. The players' shirts featured not only Butcher's name but also the message: "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 Coritiba (搜索) squad posed with a banner displaying Butcher's name alongside the signatures of 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."
Lasting Impact Beyond the Match
Coritiba (搜索) confirmed that some of the match-worn shirts will be sent to Butcher's family, while others will be donated to 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," Ana Clara added. "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."