Lauren Hemp has described it as a “massive step in the right direction” that the England women’s team will no longer be playing in white shorts. The Lionesses’ new Nike home kit, launched this week, features blue shorts after players raised concern over wearing white while on periods.
Regarding the change, England and Manchester City forward Hemp said: “It’s really important to us as players. It’s been in discussions for years and it’s important for us that we feel confident while playing.
“I think this is a massive step in the right direction and Nike have taken a lot from discussions in the past and made it real now, which for us as players is great because we can now feel comfortable when sometimes we might not have been if it’s your time of the month. It’s great to move away from white shorts to not having that worry and for us as players, we can just concentrate on the games at hand.”
Earlier this season, City’s women’s team changed from wearing white shorts to burgundy to help players feel more comfortable while on their periods, and Hemp added: “I think for us at City, to move away from that also helped change for other teams as well and promoted that, which is great.
“You want everyone to feel it’s an environment where they feel safe and comfortable. It’s great to have that. You feel as players you are listened to and it’s important to have that.”
England and West Ham defender Lucy Parker also gave her thoughts on the change, saying: “I think anything that relieves the mental stress from a player is a good thing. If it’s one less thing to worry about, then why not?”
The European champions are set to showcase the new attire during Thursday’s Finalissima meeting with Brazil at Wembley and the friendly against Australia at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium five days later. They have been playing in an all-white home strip, including at last summer’s Euros, during which some England players spoke out about the issue.
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The new home kit and an all-blue away kit for the team were among a number of Nike strips for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that were launched this week. As well as there being some colour change, Nike said the shorts in its new collection of women’s national team kits feature a liner to help protect against period leaks, following player feedback.
Jordana Katcher, vice-president of Nike women’s global sport apparel, said: “We are thrilled to offer this new innovation to all athletes playing for Nike-sponsored federations this summer. Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks or time-outs. Many told us they can spend several minutes on-pitch concerned that they may experience leakage from their period.
“When we showed them this innovation, they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can’t leave the pitch.”
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