Last week, players from both the Matildas and Socceroos excitedly unveiled the newly designed home and away kits that the teams will wear in upcoming international tournaments.
But the unveiling has left many fans upset, after they were unable to purchase the away kit in women’s sizing, when the merchandise went on sale to the public on Friday.
After initial outrage from fans, a post on the official Matildas Twitter account said: “Unfortunately the new national team’s away kit will not be available in women’s sizes.”
It also said the issue of women’s sizing would be rectified for the next kit launch in 2022.
Matildas player Elise Kellond-Knight commented that it was “a fairly significant problem”, tagging Nike in her post on Twitter.
Ummmmm 🙈, this is a fairly significant problem @nikefootball https://t.co/L7I44JoBLC
— Elise Kellond-Knight (@elise_kk8) September 18, 2020
Nike’s design and construction of the kits has clearly been given great thought. For the first time, they are constructed using 100 per cent recycled polyester from plastic bottles. The kits are also made using Nike’s NextGen Vaporknit, an innovative anti-cling material.
With so much precision given to the design of the kits, not producing a women’s silhouette for the away kit until 2022 is a terrible oversight that will impact the Matildas rapidly expanding female fan base.
On Saturday, Football Federation Australia did acknowledge its mistake, and confirmed they are consulting with Nike and will provide further updates.
.@FFA understands & acknowledges the frustration regarding 2020 National Team away kits not being available in women’s silhouettes.
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) September 19, 2020
FFA is presently consulting with Nike and will provide a further update as soon as possible.
The Matildas are one of Australia’s most loved teams, and along with New Zealand, have just won the rights to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Rectifying the away kit for female fans to purchase in two years time, as initially suggested by FFA, will leave many female football fans feeling ignored. Valuing the Matildas’ female fan base should be a priority, because it is what the team’s growth depends on.
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