It’s been around four weeks since the first pictures appeared on the internet – and also a music video. It was not difficult to see in which jersey the German national football team would probably play at the World Cup in Qatar, which begins on November 20th. But both the German Football Association (DFB) and outfitter Adidas left it uncommented.
Until last Monday. The association and the sporting goods manufacturer officially presented the new home and away jerseys to the public.
The special feature, however, is the new home jersey, as it is a uniform jersey design for the men’s and women’s national teams – i.e. a common jersey for Germany.
The new home shirt will be worn for the first time by the women’s national team in next Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Turkey. The game, which kicks off at 2.45 p.m. in the Bursa stadium, will be broadcast by ZDF.
“It’s a cool and strong sign: This jersey symbolizes that we all stand for one football, live the same values together and have one goal. We want to be successful and role models for the many girls and boys who love this sport as much as we do,” Lina Magull, a player in the German women’s national team, is quoted in the press release as saying: “We’re looking forward to having this jersey together at the Men’s World Cup 2022, as well as at the Women’s World Cup 2023.”
After all, as far as the jersey is concerned, there will no longer be a difference between men and women at the DFB in the future – there had recently been initial talks about an equal bonus payment. Chancellor Olaf Scholz not only reported on the equal pay debate via Twitter, but also paid a visit to the DFB and spoke to those responsible about it.
The new home and away jersey for the men’s national team is now available through Adidas, the DFB and selected retailers, as is the new home jersey for the women’s national team. The new jerseys cost 90 euros each – 70 euros for children. The flocking with the name of a player costs an additional ten euros. For the authentic version, which is worn by the national players, however, a lavish 140 euros have to be paid.
Regarding this Authentic version, there was some confusion around the presentation around the wording “The Team” on the fabric label on the collar. At the end of July, the DFB announced that it would no longer use this term for the German men’s selection due to fan criticism.
“The decision not to use the lettering ‘The Team’ will of course be taken into account in future collections,” said Adidas spokesman Oliver Brüggen. “Basically, it takes around two years to create a collection. We are in regular contact with the DFB.” The fact that the lettering is on the professional shirts has to do with the long lead time in the production of these jerseys, which were already finished when the DFB announced that they would not do so.
