England away kit sells more than home shirts after St George's Cross flag row
28 March 2024, 12:42
England's away kit is selling more than the home kit for the first time, amid a row over the representation of an "updated" St George's Cross on the collar.
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Kit manufacturer Nike sparked outrage earlier this month with the home shirt, which features an altered cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it called a "playful update".
Some England fans were upset by the change, and Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer waded into the row.
The company said the colours were inspired by the training kit worn by England's 1966 World Cup winners.
And now it has emerged that the grey away kit, which England wore in their match against Belgium on Tuesday, is selling faster.
Regis Schulz, chief executive of JD Sports, said: "It has only been two or three days of trading and so far it has been ok, but the one thing we are seeing is that the away shirt is selling better than the other one, when usually it would be the other way around."
"It is early days," he told the Sun." We have more shirts than normal, we had a bigger order so that might be why."
It comes after Nike issued a statement saying the design had not been intended to offend “given what it means to England fans”.
It read: “We have been a proud partner of the FA since 2012 and understand the significance and importance of the St George's Cross and it was never our intention to offend, given what it means to England fans.
"Together with the FA, the intention was to celebrate the heroes of 1966 and their achievements.
"The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England's 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple.
"The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag on the back of the collar."
Pressure is growing on the highly-paid executives who signed off the 'abominable' changes to the St George's Cross to make a formal announcement on the shirt's future, as anger grows over the redesign of the normally red English symbol.
It also emerged on Friday that England bungled football shirt was designed 5,000 miles away by Nike executives in America, according to the MailOnline.
The FA defended the design on Friday, saying that it was "not the first time" that different coloured St George's Cross-inspired designs have appeared on England shirts.
"The new England 2024 home kit has a number of design elements which were meant as a tribute to the 1966 World Cup-winning team," a spokesperson said.
I’m totally against this on all levels @nikefootball the price is outrageous the design is not @England 🏴🏴🏴
— Peter Shilton (@Peter_Shilton) March 22, 2024
"The coloured trim on the cuffs is inspired by the training gear worn by England's 1966 heroes, and the same colours also feature on the design on the back of the collar.
"It is not the first time that different coloured St George's Cross-inspired designs have been used on England shirts.
"We are very proud of the red and white St George's cross - the England flag.
"We understand what it means to our fans, and how it unites and inspires, and it will be displayed prominently at Wembley tomorrow - as it always is - when England play Brazil."
Rishi Sunak said that Nike "should not mess" with the St George's Cross, as he waded into the row.
Mr Sunak's comments echo those of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said the flag was a "unifier".
Speaking to reporters in Heanor, Derbyshire, the Prime Minister said: "Obviously I prefer the original, and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags, we shouldn't mess with them.
"Because they are a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they're perfect as they are."
Sir Keir went even further than the Prime Minister, calling for the sporting brand to "reconsider" the decision to modify it.
He told The Sun: "I'm a big football fan, I go to England games, men and women's games, and the flag is used by everybody. It is a unifier. It doesn't need to be changed. We just need to be proud of it.
"So, I think they should just reconsider this and change it back. I'm not even sure they can properly explain why they thought they needed to change it in the first place."
A petition on Change.org calling for a design change had already attracted more than 21,000 signatures by noon on Friday.
Some football pundits and fans have criticised the design and price of the shirt since it was launched earlier this week.
An "authentic" version costs £124.99 for adults and £119.99 for children while a "stadium" version is £84.99 and £64.99 for children.
Sir Keir also called on Nike to reduce the price.
Back in 2002, the price was £39.99 - if the price rose in line with inflation, it would cost £71.90 in 2024, over £50 less than the actual price this year.
