A positive in the integration of women's teams in the sport.
Friday 4th November 2022
Manchester City will join Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Livingston in helping their players feel more confident and create a more comfortable environment by changing the colour of their home kit's shorts.
After their 6-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the Conti cup the club and kit sponsor, Puma, confirmed the change to burgundy shorts alongside their infamous sky blue shirts would be brought forward to this season instead of the 2023/24 season. In a bid to not only make the players feel more confident but consequently have them play at their highest level possible the club and sponsor believe that this could be a catalyst to help women in sports. West Brom's captain and defender Hannah George, expressed that her team's kit change will allow players to be "without added concerns or anxiety" surrounding their periods which is mirrored by the intentions of those at Manchester City.
A statement from Puma revealed that they, "take pride in working closely with our players to support them and create the best possible environment for them to feel comfortable and perform at their highest level."
In July of this year, the FA revealed that England would not change the colour of their home shorts during the Euros after multiple players raised their concerns on the impracticality of a white kit; among those concerned was Beth Mead, Arsenal and England forward who was the tournaments golden boot winner, who stated "it's not practical when it's that time of the month" as well as "We have discussed it as a team and we have fed that back to Nike.”
Her comments were echoed by fellow Lioness and Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway who admitted, "supporters associate England with white" but added, "I think next year there is potentially [going to be] a colour change. It’s hard because once you’re on the grass nothing else matters."
Whilst no changes were made at the Euros a spokesperson for the FA commented: "Any feedback made by them will be taken into consideration for future designs. We will continue to work in close consultation with our partners Nike, while still following guidance from tournament organisers where possible in terms of colour choices."
Hopefully, these changes will be a driving force for more clubs to understand female players' needs and create a more open environment within women's sports.
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