The New Zealand women’s football team will swap the white shorts of their home jersey for teal blue to ease players’ menstrual anxieties, the National Football Association (NZF) has announced.
Key points:
- The Football Ferns will replace their white shorts with teal to address concerns about players’ rules.
- The move follows the lead of several other teams in world sport, including the England women’s national team.
- New Zealand will co-host the Women’s World Cup with Australia in July and August this year
New Zealand will wear the jersey in friendlies against Iceland on Friday and against Nigeria next week, as well as at the Women’s World Cup, which it will co-host with Australia from July 20 to August 20.
“The absence of white shorts is now fantastic for women with period anxiety,” said New Zealand forward Hannah Wilkinson.
“It’s always something that female athletes, not just soccer players, have had to deal with. Ultimately, it just helps us focus more on performance and shows recognition and appreciation for women’s health.”
The NZF’s decision follows similar measures taken by the England women’s team, clubs including Manchester City and the Ireland women’s rugby team.
“It’s really important for us as players,” said England’s Lauren Hemp.
“This has been discussed for many years and it is important that we feel confident when we play and this is a big step in the right direction.
“We can feel comfortable where sometimes we wouldn’t have been if it was your time of the month, so it’s great to get away from the white shorts and not have that worry,” added Hemp, a Manchester City striker.
“We can just focus on the games at hand.”
Former England player Anita Asante said ditching white shorts had probably been discussed “for generations”.
“As women, we’ve all had times where we’re not comfortable. You’re going through your menstrual cycle and you have to perform,” Asante said.
“I experienced that as an international player, and you just accepted it because it wasn’t something that was talked about and it wasn’t something you thought you could change.”
Asante, who retired from the Lionesses in 2018 after 14 years, believes the move will encourage more young girls to stay in the sport.
“If this has the kind of ripple effect, we would like to see where all clubs think about it in a massive way,” she said.
New Zealand chief executive Andrew Pragnell said that as an organization, “New Zealand football wholeheartedly supports the move away from white shorts for our international players.”
Reuters
