NEW YORK - World Cup fans are accustomed to the yellow of Brazil, the blues
of France and Italy and the stripes of Argentina and Paraguay. They should get
ready for the elephants of Ivory Coast, the eagles of Tunisia and the black
stars of Ghana.
The uniforms of this year's World Cup teams are as varied as the 32 countries
they represent, almost all carrying a distinct look. It's a change from recent
years, when major manufacturers devised patterns and merely changed the colors
to adapt to the country.
Bigger federation badges, pinstripes and gold piping are some of the changes.
Adidas, Nike and Puma are trying to meld tradition, national honor and their own
brand identity into shirts, shorts and socks for the fields of Germany.
"It's our Milan runway, it really is," said Peter Hudson, Nike's creative
director of global soccer.
With soccer's premier international events generally on a two-year calendar,
many national teams update their uniform every 24-48 months.
But with 48 pages of rules from FIFA regulating what can and can't be worn,
manufacturers have limited discretion, which is sometimes further restricted by
federations, their teams and players who actually have to don the garb.
Some federations allow almost no deviation from their traditional uniforms,
such as Brazil's yellow or Argentina's blue-and-white vertical stripes. The
biggest change for Brazil this year is a green standup collar.
African teams, however, have been the testing grounds for some of the more
innovative designs. Four years ago, Puma outfitted Cameroon in a sleeveless
shirt worn during the African Cup — until quashed by FIFA, which demanded
sleeves. Puma had to quickly add a black mesh to meet the requirement.
Two years ago, Puma again introduced a one-piece uniform, which soccer
officials also nixed.
"We push our interests," Puma international team sport business unit manager
Filip Trulsson said. "It's not a matter of Puma going up against FIFA on an
annual basis, but we want to stretch the boundaries."
