England will be wearing blue shorts instead of white at this summer’s Women’s World Cup, following player feedback concerning period issues. The new home kit, which will be debuted in Thursday’s Finalissima against Brazil at Wembley, is white with blue details and blue shorts, while the away kit is all blue. This decision was made after several players, including Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway, spoke out about wearing white shorts during England’s victorious Euro 2022 campaign. The Football Association (FA) responded by saying that the colour of the shorts would not change during the tournament, but that the situation would be monitored and feedback taken into consideration for future designs.
Domestically, Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea’s women’s teams have all changed the colour of their home kits shorts due to similar concerns. Ahead of the World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August, Nike has redesigned the kits for England and other countries. The shorts have a leak-protection liner that was added in response to athletes’ feedback. Jordana Katcher, vice-president of Nike women’s global sport apparel, said: “We are thrilled to offer this new innovation to all athletes playing for Nike-sponsored federations this summer. Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks, and many told us they can spend several minutes on-pitch concerned that they may experience leakage from their period. When we showed them this innovation, they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can’t leave the pitch.” The new England kits go on sale Monday, 5 June.