The Federal Government announced the creation of two new federal universities: the Federal Indigenous University (Unind) and the Federal University of Sports (UFEsporte). The bills were signed by the president and sent to the National Congress, marking a historic step in the expansion of free public higher education in the country.

With the addition of these two new institutions, Brazil will have 71 federal universities —one of the largest public higher education networks in the world. Interministerial technical groups will work throughout 2026 to develop the details of the projects, which are expected to begin operations in 2027.

Unind was founded with the purpose of expanding indigenous students’ access to higher education and strengthening the production of knowledge based on their traditional knowledge, languages, traditions, and territories.

The proposal calls for an initial offering of ten degree programs and an expansion to up to 48 undergraduate programs, serving approximately 2,800 students over the first four years. The programs will focus on areas strategic to the autonomy and development of indigenous territories, such as environmental and territorial management, public policy, socio-environmental sustainability, the promotion of indigenous languages, health, law, agroecology, engineering, technology, and teacher training.

Highlighting the historic nature of the initiative, the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, stated that the launch “is the tangible result of the efforts of Indigenous teachers, who for decades have been fighting for a public education system that takes ancestral knowledge into account and does not exclude, but rather complements, the knowledge produced by non-Indigenous people.”

UFEsporte

UFEsporte, coordinated by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Sports, will be dedicated to the academic, scientific, and technological training of professionals in the sports sector, in accordance with the Law on Guidelines and Foundations of National Education and the General Sports Law.

The institution will integrate higher education, professional training, and sports development at the highest level, responding to the sector’s long-standing needs and to projections for growth in this area in the country. The announcement comes one day after Lula signed into law the bill making the Sports Incentive Act a permanent public policy.

The new university also incorporates guidelines on inclusion and human rights, with a focus on gender equity—promoting women’s sports and combating misogyny in sports—ethnic and racial equity—expanding opportunities for Black and Indigenous people—and combating racism in sports, through critical education and qualified professional practice.

Recent data underscore the urgency of this issue. According to the 2023 Survey on Diversity in Brazilian Soccer, 41% of Black people and 31% of Indigenous people report having been victims of racism in the course of their work. Studies from the University of São Paulo (USP) show that, although 57% of elite soccer players are Black or mixed-race, only 12.5% of coaches in Series A and B in 2024 were Black professionals, highlighting persistent barriers to leadership positions.

Education Minister Camilo Santana stated that the initial plan is for the first campuses of the two universities to be located in Brasília, and he emphasized that the proposals reinforce the government’s commitment to expanding access, reducing inequalities, and training professionals capable of working in areas critical to national development.

Sources: G1 and MEC.

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