During every major tournament, there’s a time when everyone starts to watch someone who no one was before. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, that person was a goalkeeper from Cape Verde who is 40 years old and goes by the name “Vozinha,” which means “granny” in his native Creole language. The man’s name alone tells you something about him. It also shows how quickly and often things can change in the world of sports finance in just one afternoon.
Josimar José Évora Dias, better known as Vozinha to people who have been following the tournament, came into it as a pretty unknown person. Before the World Cup, he played in Portugal’s second division. A little over 50,000 people were following him on Instagram. His estimated net worth, which was mostly made up of small club contracts earned over a career that lasted until he was in his late thirties, showed that he lived a simple, hardworking life. After that, they played Spain.
Cape Verde, a small country with about 490,000 people that is part of an Atlantic archipelago, played its first World Cup match on June 15 and tied the 2010 champions 0-0. There were 27 shots at Vozinha. Seven saves were made. He was named Man of the Match. “Perhaps the biggest upset in the tournament so far,” the BBC said, which sounds like too little of a compliment when you watch the video again. It was hard not to notice how slowly he moved between the posts and read the game with the calmness of someone who has been doing this for 20 years and decided at age 40 that this World Cup would be his chance.
In the three weeks after that show, he had over 17.6 million followers on Instagram. To give you an idea, that’s more followers than Tom Brady has. Not as much as Patrick Mahomes. They both play the sport that makes the most money for the media around the world. Vozinha is a goalkeeper from an island country that before June most football fans wouldn’t have been able to name.
So, what does that level of visibility mean in terms of money? Superagent for athletes Leigh Steinberg, who has been in charge of their careers for decades, put it simply: at that level, platforms like Instagram and YouTube become revenue streams almost right away, and traditional brand partnerships like those in cereal boxes, car ads, and clothing lines come right after. Vozinha has already started posting content that is paid for. The business machine didn’t seem to wait for the tournament to end.
It’s hard to say how much Vozinha was worth before the World Cup. This is common for football players whose careers have moved through lower-league European football. Sports finance experts say that professional footballers’ pre-tournament earnings are probably in the low five figures, ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. This is because their earnings are likely the result of years of steady professional contracts rather than one big deal. It’s very likely that that number is being changed right now.
Reports say that Vozinha is thinking about moving to Brazil, where football is very popular and where his newfound fame would really help his business. “I’m open to everything,” he told a well-known in Brazil journalist. “Let’s see what comes up.” His answer is measured, which fits with the overall impression of someone who doesn’t act quickly, even when it might be necessary.
The name Vozinha came from the neighborhood in Cape Verde where he lived. Older boys made fun of him for complaining to his grandparents after street football games. That story of how he got to the World Cup, where he’s now playing against Lionel Messi and Argentina in front of the whole world, is quietly satisfying. No matter how much Vozinha is worth in the coming months, it will have been earned through hard work, persistence, and one unforgettable afternoon against Spain. That’s a better beginning story than most.
