On a Saturday evening Serie A clash against Chapecoense, Brazilian football side Coritiba stepped onto the pitch with a powerful, unexpected twist to their matchday kits. Ditching their standard front-of-shirt sponsor branding, the entire starting lineup and squad wore jerseys emblazoned with the name of Jonny Butcher, a 29-year-old English fan living with motor neurone disease (MND), in a moving gesture to raise global awareness of the incurable neurodegenerative condition.
Butcher’s connection to the Curitiba-based club is a story of love and coincidence rooted in personal history. A lifelong supporter of England’s Norwich City, he first crossed paths with Ana Clara, a Coritiba supporter and native of the club’s home city, on a Christian dating app back in March 2023. Just a few months after their first meeting, Butcher traveled to Brazil to visit Clara, and quickly fell in love with both the city and its beloved football club. By a striking twist of fate, Norwich City and Coritiba had already established an official strategic partnership back in 2022, making Butcher’s decision to embrace the Brazilian side feel like fate.
The couple married in 2024, but their new life together was upended when Butcher received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — the most common form of MND — this past February. MND is a progressive, incurable disorder that attacks the nervous system, gradually breaking down motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Over time, the condition causes muscle weakness, atrophy, and eventual loss of function, leaving patients with declining mobility and often severe breathing challenges.
After his diagnosis, Butcher compiled a bucket list of meaningful experiences he hoped to enjoy while he still retains his physical capacity. At the top of that list was attending a Coritiba match at the club’s iconic Couto Pereira stadium alongside his brother-in-law. Unfortunately, advancing symptoms, including mobility loss and breathing difficulties, have made that trip impossible. But when Coritiba’s leadership learned of Butcher’s story and his unfulfilled dream, they moved quickly to honor him in a way that would bring him and his wife joy from across the Atlantic.
Beyond printing Butcher’s name across the front of every match jersey, Coritiba added a heartfelt message of solidarity: “Your strength inspires us. We stand as one.” The kit design also integrated a sunflower, the globally recognized symbol of awareness for non-visible disabilities, to further amplify the message of MND advocacy. After the playing of Brazil’s national anthem ahead of kickoff, the entire squad gathered for a group photo holding a large banner signed by hundreds of Coritiba fans, players, and club staff that also bore Butcher’s name.
Watching the tribute unfold from their home in England, Ana Clara told BBC Sport that the moment left the couple completely overwhelmed. “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,” she said. “We sat there watching it all from England, completely overwhelmed and honestly struggling to believe that this was really happening.”
After the match, Coritiba announced that the special game-worn jerseys would be put to use beyond the tribute: some will be shipped directly to Butcher and his family, while others will go to a charitable institution that supports people living with MND and other rare diseases.
Ana Clara shared that her husband was deeply moved by the gesture, saying: “Last night Jonny said he wishes he could shake every hand and tell each person individually what this meant to him. 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.”
Founded in 1909, Coritiba is one of Brazil’s most decorated traditional clubs, claiming the country’s top-flight national title in 1985 and winning a record 39 Paranaense State championships throughout its history.