CNN
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When England take the field on Sunday Women’s World Cup final, the team will not look like the one that won the European Championship last July. The difference? No white shorts.
They are not alone. While some teams still wore lightweight shorts at this year’s tournament, including Zambia and the Philippines, many joined England in adopting alternative colors. The number of nations whose uniforms feature white shorts has decreased compared to the 2019 tournament, despite an increase in the number of participants from 24 to 32. Notably, most of the teams that opted for white last time have changed of color for 2023, including Canada, France, Nigeria and South Korea.
The move is part of a growing trend – and not limited to football – to combat period anxiety among female athletes.
This comes after the Irish women’s rugby team exchange his white shorts for the navy blues earlier this year and the organizers of Wimbledon relaxed their rules, allowing competitors to wear dark-colored shorts under their all-white outfits for the first time. After England unveiled their new World Cup kits, striker Lauren Hemp told reporters the decision to switch from white shorts to blue was “a huge step in the right direction”.
“We can now feel comfortable when sometimes we might not have if it was your time of the month,” she added. “It’s great to get away from the white shorts, not have any worries and focus on the game.” Hemp plays in the English Women’s Super League for Manchester City, who in 2022 changed their uniform to exclude white shorts, for the benefit of Bordeaux, following feedback from the players. (Manchester City men continue to wear the team’s traditional blue and white.)
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Hannah Wilkinson, from New Zealand, described the absence of white shorts as “fantastic for women suffering from any sort of period anxiety”.
The move away from white shorts for women was sparked by the growing popularity of certain sports, according to Nicole Melton, an associate professor of sports management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. With more than a million tickets sold, this year’s World Cup is the the most frequented stand-alone women’s sporting event in history, said organizer FIFA.
“The global attention to women’s football over the last 25 years, not only in the United States, but also in Europe and South America, (means) there is simply more attention and more interest,” she said in a telephone conversation. interview. “And so, it just gives these women a bigger platform to speak out on these issues.” »
Allison Smith, assistant professor of leadership and sports administration at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said in a phone interview that getting rid of the white shorts “is a very small thing that shows the big impact that women’s sport is starting to have.
“Players feel like they have a voice to really challenge the traditional norms that have always been in place for their particular sport, whether it’s uniforms, coaching or whatever it may be,” added Smith.
“You see players having the confidence to really speak up and say, ‘Hey, these are no longer acceptable practices for us – we’re not just going to wear these particular uniforms or just take this particular salary or these crumbs that we’ I was given historically.’
Hemp is by no means the only athlete to voice support for ditching white shorts at this year’s World Cup. New Zealand’s Hannah Wilkinson, whose team opted for black and teal shorts at this year’s competition, said in a statement statement that “the absence of white shorts is now fantastic for women suffering from any sort of period anxiety.”
“This has always been an issue that female athletes, not just footballers, have had to deal with,” she added. “Ultimately, it just helps us focus more on performance and demonstrates recognition and appreciation for women’s health.”
Sports equipment manufacturers have traditionally taken inspiration from men’s uniforms to make women’s uniforms, as most major clubs established their women’s teams well after their male counterparts. Melton noted that the historical prevalence of white shorts in women’s sports suggests that little or no consideration has been given to the difference between women’s bodies and men’s.
“Women just haven’t been considered,” she said, adding that changes in policies and uniform design will make female athletes feel more comfortable and confident. “Research that shows when you feel that way, you’ll get better results.”
Melton hopes the move will help make menstruation a less taboo subject, not just in elite sport but in society at large.
“Boys have never been ashamed to wear a haircut. A girl shouldn’t be shamed for wearing darker shorts when she’s on her period, but unfortunately society has made women feel ashamed of things that are simply part of who they are,” Melton said. “It’s a pretty revolutionary act for these athletes to say, ‘Yes, this is what we should be doing.'”
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Tennis player Aryna Sabalenka pictured at Wimbledon this year, the first edition of the tournament to allow competitors to wear dark-colored shorts under their all-white outfits.
Clare Hanlon, a professor at Victoria University’s Institute of Health and Sport, believes changing standards around women’s uniforms can “make a difference to participation”. Of the 44 Australian women and girls surveyed, 48% said changes to uniform rules, such as replacing white shorts with other colors, had encouraged them to stay in their sport.
Hanlon acknowledged that his sample size was small, but explained, “We just needed something quick to say, ‘Well, is this worth changing?’ Because you really won’t know the impact for a few years. So we wanted to know, based on the changes that have been made: “What do you think? Will this help you?’
“It shows it makes a difference.” This could mean not wearing white shorts, but more importantly having a choice on what you would like to wear to feel comfortable,” Hanlon added.
According to Smith, one of the reasons many young girls and teenagers give up sports is because their bodies change as they reach puberty.
“I imagine if I’m a young girl getting my period for the first time and I’m wearing white shorts, it’s just going to create more anxiety for me,” Smith said.
Smith believes the changes to uniform policies will have a positive impact on future generations of female athletes.
“I’m excited to see women doing this at the top of the game, knowing that it will have a trickle-down effect on girls in college and girls in younger leagues,” she said. “We also hope that young girls will benefit from uniform changes that reflect this, so that they stay in the game longer.”
Challenges remain
Moving away from white shorts could be the first of many design changes to be implemented in women’s sports.
Although progress has been made in adapting the cut and color of women’s soccer uniforms, in part to address differences between male and female athletes, other problems remain. For example, female soccer players still widely wear cleats, which are inherently designed for men, despite research suggesting that shoe sizing could contribute to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in women.
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Eugénie Le Sommer of France, one of several teams to switch from white to dark-colored shorts at this year’s World Cup.
Ahead of the Women’s World Cup, Nike unveiled new soccer shoes, created specifically for women, that incorporate changes that Melton believes will reduce the risk of certain injuries.
“Nike looked at it and said, ‘Oh, we can change the way our cleats are.’ And it reduces injuries,” Melton said. “Finally, people have opened their eyes because female athletes have been tremendous champions for these causes.”
“I think we’re kind of at a point in history where we’re going to see more investment,” she added. “And it’s going to have such a ripple effect in women’s sports.”
