Adidas away kit irks some locals
Published:Wednesday | February 8, 2023 | 2:23 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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WHILE THE demand for the new Jamaica Adidas kit led to a temporary crash of the organisation’s website, signalling a huge demand, local fans had mixed reactions about the new home and away jerseys for the next two years. Adidas unveiled the new...
WHILE THE demand for the new Jamaica Adidas kit led to a temporary crash of the organisation’s website, signalling a huge demand, local fans had mixed reactions about the new home and away jerseys for the next two years.
Adidas unveiled the new jerseys on Monday in a worldwide social media launch as part of a four-year deal with the Jamaica Football Federation to be the official kit sponsor, replacing Umbro. The kits were designed by British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, who said they reflect “the diverse nature and soul of today’s Jamaica authentically connecting with the Jamaican community across the globe.”
Football fans Kadian Tingle, Maurice Duncan and Elvis Jenkins were satisfied with the home jersey but not with the away one.
“For the yellow one, it is a really good home kit. Not too sure I like the away kit because of the red around the sleeve. Other than that, I would give them an 80 out of 100,” Tingle told The Gleaner.
Duncan’s issue with the away kit was that he felt it did not represent Jamaica in the way that he would have hoped.
“The home seems to be OK, representing the colours of Jamaica. But I think the away kit needed to be more representative of our flag. There is no red in our flag but there is red in our kit. I don’t know where the red came from,” Duncan said. “Maybe it is a Rasta thing. It is a part of our culture but the red, I don’t see it (necessary).”
According to the release, Adidas described the away kit as “crafted to represent the collective memories of proud Jamaicans.” But Jenkins is not of the mind that it represents this at first glance.
“The home kit looks great. But the away kit doesn’t look like anything Jamaica. The pre-match jersey looks better than the away kit,” Jenkins said.
While there has been positive feedback on social media on the jersey, Tingle said that Arsenal’s Jamaican-inspired third kit heightened anticipation for Jamaica’s jerseys and was hoping that it hit the same mark.
“I’m an Arsenal fan and when I saw the Arsenal third kit I had to get one. I was expecting something more loud like that. That Arsenal kit really stood out,” Tingle said.
“I think it could have been more vibrant knowing that Jamaica is a vibrant country. It could have been more oriented based on that. But I still would give them a grade of 80 per cent.”