The women’s soccer team Englandwho will play this Saturday against Colombia for a place in the World Cup semifinals, stopped wearing his traditional white shorts after the players expressed concerns related to menstruation.
The uniforms they have played in since April (both the starter and alternate) have dark blue shorts.
English players like Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway had spoken out against the white pants during Euro 2022.
At the time, the English Football Association said it would look into the situation and take player feedback into account for future designs. He added: “We want our players to feel our continued support on this matter.”
First, some English clubs such as Manchester City took the step of changing the color of the pants on their kits to address the concerns of the players by having to wear white during the period of menstrual bleeding.
Then, Nike, the supplier of the England team and 12 other countries, also redesigned the uniform for the World Cup that takes place in Australia and New Zealand.
The change was not only in color, but the new pants also incorporate a lining that protects against possible leaks.
“We’re thrilled to bring this innovation to all female athletes who play for Nike-sponsored federations,” said Jordana Katcher, the brand’s vice president of global women’s sportswear.
“Professional soccer players play two halves of 45 minutes each. Many have told us that they can spend several minutes on the pitch worrying about the possibility of leaking,” he added.
“We wanted to make sure our players were focused on their game and not distracted by this concern,” said Lisa Gibson of the Nike Advanced Innovation Collective.
The New Zealand team, which has already been eliminated from the tournament, also changed its white pants to dark colors for the same reason.
Hannah Wilkinson, a player for that team, called the decision “great for women with any kind of period anxiety.”
Other teams, such as the United States, did wear white shorts in the current championship.
A trend in women’s sports
The trend follows the path of the historic change in the dress code for Wimbledon 2022.
After more than a century of tradition in which the prestigious tennis tournament required all its participants to wear “white on white” during matches, last year the organizers allowed tennis players to wear dark undershorts for the first time.
Having uniforms that adapt to their bodies and their needs has been a struggle for years for athletes.
For decades, from when women’s soccer was banned in England, women soccer players wore kits made for men.
For Ali Bowes, a doctor in sports sociology, there are still “gaps, problems and challenges” to solve, such as football boots, which are usually designed with a man’s foot in mind.
In any case, the growing visibility of women’s football has attracted the interest of designers and fashion houses in the sport. Brands like Calvin Klein and Gucci have recently included female soccer players in their ad campaigns..
Following the surprisingly early eliminations of the United States and Germany from the 2023 Soccer World Cup, many eyes are on England, the reigning European champions and one of three teams so far unbeaten in the tournament. The other two are Japan and Sweden.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/crge68ge19po, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-09 22:50:10
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