A 40 year old goalkeeper from Cape Verde was never supposed to become one of the faces of the FIFA World Cup. Yet Vozinha’s performances captured global attention, turning an experienced international into one of the tournament’s most compelling stories. Behind that journey stands an unlikely partnership built not on celebrity endorsements or marketing campaigns, but on years of trust, shared values, and belief.
Senda has spent more than sixteen years building a football brand focused on purpose, community, and athlete relationships. Long before the world discovered Vozinha, the company had already established a close partnership with the Cape Verde goalkeeper, supporting him throughout his journey to football’s biggest stage. In this conversation, Senda founder Santiago Halty explains how that relationship developed, why Vozinha chose to trust a smaller brand, and how a product partnership evolved into one of the most human stories of the World Cup.
Before the World Cup, Vozinha was already wearing Senda boots. How did your relationship begin, and what first convinced him to trust your brand?
Like any athlete at that level, the product comes first. If the product is not good enough, nothing else matters.
Like any athlete at that level, the product comes first.
We sent Vozinha both of our models, the Rosario SPEED and the Mendoza TOUCH, and he immediately connected with the Mendoza, which has become especially popular among goalkeepers.
From there, the relationship developed naturally. We were looking for athletes who shared our values, people who had earned everything through perseverance and hard work, true underdogs in the best sense of the word. There was something that felt very aligned between his journey and ours.
He had spent more than fifteen years working toward his first World Cup. We had spent sixteen years building Senda, and this was also our first World Cup with boots on the field. That mutual respect created trust.
Many athletes have opportunities to work with much larger global companies. Why do you believe Vozinha chose to stay with Senda throughout this journey?
First, because he genuinely liked the product. That is always the foundation. Professional athletes know immediately whether something works for them or not.
Beyond that, I think he appreciated the relationship and the level of service we provided. At Senda, we are small enough that I can personally get on a plane, visit an athlete, listen to feedback, and solve problems quickly.
Sometimes being smaller is actually an advantage because the relationship becomes more personal. I think Vozinha felt that.
Sometimes being smaller is actually an advantage because the relationship becomes more personal.
Can you take us inside the development process? How many years of testing, feedback, and collaboration were involved before Vozinha stepped onto the World Cup stage wearing your boots?
Almost two years.
We knew that if we were going to enter the boot category, we could not cut corners. We tested materials, fit, traction, comfort, durability, and every other detail that impacts performance.
We worked closely with professional players from different backgrounds and countries. Goalkeepers such as Maxime Crépeau, field players such as Ian Glavinovich and Augusto Schott, among many others. We wanted feedback from athletes competing in different leagues, climates, and competitive environments.
The goal was never to create a good boot for a startup. The goal was to create a world class football boot.
When Cape Verde qualified for the FIFA World Cup, did you immediately realise what this opportunity could mean for both Vozinha and Senda, or did the scale of the story surprise you?
I knew Cape Verde was capable of surprising people. The more I studied the team, the more impressed I became.
They had beaten Cameroon and were led by Bubista, one of Africa’s most respected coaches. This was not a team that had arrived by accident.
That said, the scale of what happened has surpassed anything we could have imagined. If someone had told me a few months ago that Vozinha would become one of the faces of the World Cup and gain millions of followers, I would never have believed it.
Vozinha’s performances have captured global attention and inspired millions of people around the world. What has it been like watching someone you have worked with closely become one of the stories of the tournament?
Honestly, it has been emotional.
We spend so much time in sports talking about brands, products, and business that sometimes we forget the human side.
Watching Vozinha’s story resonate around the world has been a reminder that people are hungry for authentic stories. Here is a player making his World Cup debut at the age of 40, representing a small nation, and suddenly the entire football world is rooting for him.
That is much bigger than football.
Beyond the performances themselves, what have you learned about Vozinha as a person throughout your relationship with him?
Humility.
That is the first word that comes to mind.
The attention around him has exploded, but the person has not changed. He still treats people with respect. He still prioritises his family, his teammates, and his country.
I think that is one of the reasons people connect with him. What you see publicly is exactly who he is.
Senda has always positioned itself differently from many traditional football brands. How does the story of Vozinha reflect the values and philosophy behind the company?
Our mission has never been to chase the biggest names.
We have always believed in finding people whose stories deserve to be told.
Vozinha represents resilience, perseverance, humility, and community. Those values are much closer to what Senda stands for than simply signing the biggest superstar available.
In many ways, his journey feels like a reflection of our own.
Social media attention around Vozinha has exploded during the tournament. How has this unexpected visibility affected Senda internally, both commercially and emotionally?
It has brought visibility and awareness that we never expected. New conversations, new opportunities, and new partnerships.
But emotionally, it has probably had an even greater impact.
Our team has spent years working on products that very few people knew existed. To suddenly see our boots associated with one of the defining stories of the World Cup is incredibly rewarding.
It is one of those moments that reminds you why you stayed committed through all the difficult years. It was all worth it.
Looking back, was there a specific moment during the World Cup when you realised this had become much bigger than a product story and had evolved into something far more meaningful?
The Spain match.
Not because of the boots. Not because of the exposure.
After the game, people were not talking about equipment. They were talking about hope, perseverance, and the belief that impossible things can happen.
That was the moment I realised this story belonged to far more people than just us.
What do you hope people remember most from this journey: the goalkeeper, the performances, the boots, or the story behind how all of it came together?
The story behind the person.
If people remember Vozinha’s journey and what it represents, then everything else becomes secondary.
The boots are part of the story, but they are not the story.
The story is about perseverance, belief, and what can happen when someone refuses to give up on a dream. We are honoured to have been part of that journey and will continue to support him long after the World Cup spotlight fades. That is how we build relationships with our athletes.
The story is about perseverance, belief, and what can happen when someone refuses to give up on a dream.
If you could go back to the very beginning of your relationship with Vozinha, what would you tell your younger self knowing where this story would eventually lead?
I would tell myself to enjoy the journey more.
As founders, we are always chasing the next goal, solving the next problem, and worrying about the next challenge.
This experience has reminded me that some of the most meaningful moments come from relationships that are built years before anyone is paying attention.
Nobody could have predicted this story.
That is exactly what makes it so special.