Euro 2022 kits: How bespoke jerseys are helping to promote women’s football

The release of new football kits often generates a discernible buzz and the recent unveiling of bespoke kits for Euro 2022 has done exactly that. 

Almost every nation competing at the major international tournament this summer has released their respective kits for the competition and there are some exceptional designs. Check out our rankings of each country’s kit from worst to best. 

While new kit fever is far from a new concept, the interest and fascination with this Euro 2022 attire has been further heightened by the lack of specifically tailored kits for women in the past. 

Prior to the 2019 Women’s World Cup, bespoke women’s kits were few and far between. Hence, these meticulously constructed jerseys have the potential to have a huge impact on women’s football. 

To some, a kit may just be viewed as a fairly insignificant piece of clothing, but for those players who wear garments that are specifically designed for them, it makes each individual feel valued, it promotes women’s football and helps distance it from being a subsidiary of the men’s game. 

As this summer approaches, it feels as though the women’s kit revolution is finally complete. Here’s how that came to be:

For much of this century, women’s kits derived from existing men’s kits and in many cases, female players were often forced to wear hand-me-downs from male players. 

Former England legend Alex Scott revealed that back in 2002 she was forced to wear hand-me-downs from the Arsenal men’s first team. “It looked like I was wearing a parachute,” she stressed. 

Even as women’s versions of kits started to evolve, the opposite effect was achieved. The majority of women’s jerseys were extremely tight-fitting and widely considered uncomfortable. 

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