The England women's football team are changing the colour of their shorts after a number of players voiced concerns about wearing white during their periods.
Sarina Weigman's side are currently preparing to take on Copa America winners Brazil at Wembley Stadium in the Finalissima on Thursday.
England will then go on to face Australia, who are hosting the upcoming 2023 World Cup, before they embark on the tournament itself in their new gear, where they will line up against Haiti, Denmark and China in Group D. Fans will be able to purchase the new kits from Monday 5 June on the official England store.
The Lionesses had previously played in white shorts but will now make the switch to blue ones, following an announcement by the Football Association on Monday.
England and Arsenal forward Beth Mead, who won the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament during England's UEFA Women's Euro 2022 success on home soil, expressed her concern regarding the kit issues for women while speaking to The Times last summer.
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“It’s something we’ve fed back to Nike,” said Mead. “Hopefully they’re going to change that [white shorts]. It’s very nice to have an all-white kit but sometimes it’s not practical when it’s the time of the month. We deal with it as best we can. We’ve discussed it as a team and we’ve fed that back to Nike.”
Several other women's teams have also made a similar change to allocate for the needs of their players, including the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and the Ireland rugby team.
“The top way to ensure we perform to our best on the field is by removing any unnecessary distractions. Wearing navy shorts instead of white is such a small thing, but for us, it’s a big step from Canterbury and the IRFU.” said Ireland centre Enya Breen to the Irish Rugby website after news was released in March.
Topics: England, Football, Womens World Cup, Rugby, Ireland
Patrick Rowe