Nike senior director of global communications, Heidi Burgett, revealed on Twitter that the Swoosh is ditching its template approach to football jerseys this year in favor of more unique designs that can be tailored to clubs and nations’ individual identities.
Replying to Liverpool Offside on Twitter, Burgett wrote: “We’re ditching the templates. For the 2020 kits, Nike designers had 65 chassis options available to them across varying necklines, sleeves, cuffs, badge placement, etc. From hand-drawn prints to custom fonts, each team’s look will be its own.”
Nike (and other sportswear brands) have come under fire over the last few years for using templates for the teams they sponsor (with the exception of some top tier teams), resulting in many uniform looks. The 2016 European Championships was the most glaring example, where all of Nike’s teams used the exact same template, albeit with different colors.
Fans were understandably unhappy, as much of the joy of representing one’s team comes from wearing a jersey that is unique to the side you support, with defining characteristics and design details.
The Nigerian, U.S., and Korean 2020 jerseys, which will be on show during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and in other international competitions this year, are a first glimpse at what to expect from Nike jersey design going forward. Whereas only a select few clubs received kits with custom designs previously, Burgett promises that “each team’s look will be its own” going forward.
Stay tuned for more information.
