Lionesses have switched to blue shorts with a ‘leakage protection’ liner after England’s women’s team raised concerns about playing football in all-white while on their periods.
- England Women continue their preparations for the World Cup this summer
- The Lionesses released their home kits and the kits they will wear to the tournament
- They no longer wear white shorts after players raised concerns
Lionesses will switch to blue shorts with a ‘leakage protection’ liner after England’s women’s team raised concerns about playing football in all-white while on their periods.
Both stripes for this summer’s World Cup will be accompanied by blue shorts instead And the white shorts fell after discussions involving the players, the Football Association and Nike.
This also led to the addition of a “leakage guard” liner – something designed to help ease players’ concerns while performing during their spell.
The lining has been tested extensively, and the removal of the white shorts is such a victory for the sport that the Lionesses’ stars have raised concerns with Nike lately.
Ahead of Euro 2022, Beth Mead and Georgia Stanaway were among the players who spoke out on the issue, with the FA saying at the time that changing colors would be ‘considered for future designs’ rather than changing them soon.
England women will no longer be wearing white shorts after concerns were raised about players playing on their period, with blue shorts accompanying the new kit.
Removing the white shorts is a victory for the sport as the Lionesses stars discussed the issue with Nike recently, while a “leakage protection” liner has been added.
Beth Mead was one of the England players who spoke out about the issue ahead of Euro 2022 last year
‘It’s very nice to have an all-white kit,’ said Mead, ‘but sometimes it’s not practical when it’s the time of the month.
We discussed it as a team and brought that back to Nike. We hope they change that.
Stanway backed up her teammate, saying, ‘I think that’s something we can talk about as a whole team.
I think there will probably be a color change next year. I think it’s hard, because once you’re on the grass, nothing else matters.
“Once the adrenaline hits, no one cares.”
The Lionesses will wear the new kit for this summer’s World Cup after launching the new-look jerseys on Monday morning, complete with a white home and blue stripe.
Sarina Wiegman’s side will debut the new design this Thursday when they face Brazil in the inaugural final before hosting Australia next Tuesday.
The Nike kits will then be available for fans to purchase from the week of June 5th.
It was announced that the shirts were inspired by Wembley Stadium, as the iconic venue celebrates its centenary this year, while it also holds both attendance records for women’s football matches – set by recent England matches.
England women’s captain Leah Williamson designed her kits for this summer’s World Cup
The white home strip was accompanied by a blue jersey with a geometric pattern
England’s home kit will be a plain white shirt, with blue detailing, which is also a way of paying homage to the Lionesses with the jersey worn by the women’s team at Euro 1984 – the first team in the country’s history to take part in a major tournament.
The away strip is the first time a team has worn blue and has a geometric pattern, with the blues being slightly lighter and darker.
Sarina Wegman’s Lionesses will be looking to build on their triumphs at Euro 2022 last year when they head to Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament begins on July 20, and England will face Denmark, China and Haiti in Group D of the competition.
Other sports that could eliminate all-white kits
Tennis
Emma Raducano playing in her all-white ensemble at Wimbledon in June last year, before the dress code was relaxed.
For 11 months out of the year, tennis players are free to choose the kit they wear (within their sponsorship).
But in July, those wishing to compete at Wimbledon had to show off their whites, as the All England Club has historically only allowed people to play in that colour.
That will change later this year, when female tennis players will no longer be forced to wear white at a tournament for the first time.
This relaxation of the rules – which meant only the top half of the outfit had to be white – came after concerns were raised about women playing during their periods.
cricket
England’s Alice Davidson-Richards hits the ball during a women’s Test match in Taunton, in June last year
England’s men’s and women’s teams have long worn white while playing Test cricket – the sport’s longest running form.
It was thought in part that this was because the players needed to be white in order to have a color contrast with the red ball.
However, this is not the case in shorter forms of the sport such as one-day and T20, where the ball is white.
For these competitions, England wear colored shorts and shirts, with both men and women wearing dark blue shorts.
Football
Tatiana Hurd plays during the Women’s Six Nations match between England and Italy on Sunday, April 2
The England women’s rugby union team – known as the Red Roses – still wear white shorts as part of their all-white kit.
There’s no indication yet that this will change, but other teams in the sport have already made up their minds.
Earlier this year, the Irish women’s team announced that they would be swapping their traditional white shorts for navy blue due to period concerns.
Ireland defender Enya Brain welcomed the move, saying: “This will take the stress away from worrying about being on your period while playing in a match.”
