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England will wear blue shorts instead of white at this summer’s Women’s World Cup after players expressed period concerns.
The new home kit will be worn for the first time in Thursday’s inaugural Finalissima against Brazil at Wembley.
It is white with blue details and blue shorts, while the away kit is all blue.
Players including Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway spoke out about wearing white shorts during England’s victorious Euro 2022 campaign.
At the time, the Football Association (FA) said the colour of the shorts would not change during the tournament, but that the situation would continue to be looked at and players’ feedback would be taken into consideration for future designs.
It added: “We recognise the importance and want our players to feel our continued support on this matter. We have appealed to international tournament organisers to keep this subject in consideration and allow for greater flexibility on kit colour combinations.”
Domestically, Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea’s women’s teams are among those to change the shorts colour of their home kits because of concerns about having to wear white while on their periods.
England and other countries have had their kits redesigned by Nike before the World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August.
The shorts feature a leak-protection liner in response to athletes’ feedback.
“We are thrilled to offer this new innovation to all athletes playing for Nike-sponsored federations this summer,” said Jordana Katcher, vice-president of Nike women’s global sport apparel.
“Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks. 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.”
The new England kits go on sale Monday, 5 June.
