England's Lionesses Switch to Blue Shorts After Players Share Period Concerns
Players at Wimbledon this year will also be able to stray from the all-white dress code, for the first time ever.
England’s Lionesses are tackling an all-important topic this World Cup season, as they’ve convinced Nike to make some big changes to their football kit this year. It appears that this year’s kits will switch out white shorts for blue ones after the players raised concerns about menstruation and period leaks.
According to The Guardian, Arsenal striker Beth Mead discussed the issue with the England kit manufacturer after last summer’s Women’s Euro championship, urging them to make changes ahead of this season’s games.
“It’s very nice to have an all-white kit, but sometimes it’s not practical when it’s that time of the month,” said the Arsenal striker. “We deal with it [menstruation] as best as we can but we discussed the shorts issue together as a team and fed our views through to Nike.”
While many players opt for period-delay pills and contraceptives during football season in order to combat any potential problems, those who typically experience heavier flow or unexpected periods (sometimes during matches themselves) would prefer an alternative approach.
As a result, the new kits will be worn at Wembley this week when England is set to play Brazil in the first women’s “Finalissima” match. England’s kit changes follow the likes of Manchester City, West Brom and Ireland Women’s Rugby Union, who also recognized the issue. What’s more, female players at this year’s Wimbledon will also be able to go against the typically all-white dress code by wearing dark undershorts — for the first time ever.
In other football news, adidas released its Women’s World Cup away jerseys.
