Sport
The Lionesses will wear blue shorts at the Women’s World Cup to help combat period concerns
The new England women's kits have been released and they go on sale from 5 June.
Danny Jones -
4th April 2023 
The new Lionesses kit for the Women’s World Cup has officially been released and finally features blue shorts after a massive push from players over period concerns.
While England sides traditionally wear all-white home strips where they can — with the Lionesses doing the same during the incredible road to victory at Euro 2022 — the women’s game has long been calling for the FA to allow for alternate shorts to accommodate for when players are on their periods.
At the time, the likes of Beth Mead said it’s “simply not practical for women when it’s the time of the month” and many have long wondered why it has taken so long for them to change it.
Regardless, the Lionesses are now set to wear the new kit for the first time in the Finalissima (European-South American Nations Cup) on Thursday, joining other Nike-sponsored teams and various domestic clubs like Manchester City, West Brom and Swansea who have already swapped out white shorts.
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The new shorts aren’t just blue, however: the redesign features a new leak-protection liner in response to athletes’ feedback, with similar having already been implemented across Nike‘s new kit range perfected ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which starts on 20 August.
Jordana Katcher, the women’s global sport apparel for the brand, said they are “thrilled to offer this new innovation” which should help combat the “several minutes on-pitch” that players spend “concerned that they may experience leakage from their period.”
She says that upon revealing the new kit technology to the various female athletes, “they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can’t leave the pitch.”
The FA have also insisted that they they “recognise the importance and want our players to feel our continued support on this matter”, and will continue to “appeal to international tournament organisers… and allow for greater flexibility on kit colour combinations.” Long overdue, as far as we’re concerned.
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Featured Image — Lionesses
