England's Lionesses ditch white shorts ahead of Women's World Cup following players' period concerns

4 April 2023, 11:04 | Updated: 4 April 2023, 11:09

The England women's football team has unveiled a new-look football kit after players voiced concerns over the wearing of white shorts while on their periods.

The move sees the traditional white shorts replaced by blue as part of England's new home kit, with the Lionesses away kit being replaced by an all-blue design.

It's an unveiling that comes ahead of this summer's Women's World Cup which is set to take place from 20 July to 20 August in Australia and New Zealand.

Concerns over the kit were first voiced by Lioness squad members including Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway during the Euro 2022 tournament.

"It is very nice to have an all-white kit but sometimes it's not practical when it's the time of the month," Mead said last July following their Euros victory.

At the time, the Football Association said that as per FA rules, the colour of the shorts could not change during the tournament.

However, the FA flagged that the issue would continue to be looked at, with players' feedback taken into account going forward.

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"We recognise the importance and want our players to feel our continued support on this matter," the FA said.

"We have appealed to international tournament organisers to keep this subject in consideration and allow for greater flexibility on kit colour combinations."

The new home kit will be worn for the first time during Thursday's Finalissima against Brazil at Wembley Stadium.

Drawing inspiration from the iconic stadium - which is set to celebrate 100th anniversary this year, the new shorts design also features a leak-protection liner in response to 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."

Nike designers took onboard players' comments as part of the re-design process, with England among a number of teams - including co-host nation New Zealand, to redesign their strips.

The move follows a number of domestic teams abandoning white shorts as part of the women's game, including Manchester City, West Brom and Orlando Pride - as well as Ireland women’s rugby union side internationally .

It comes as female players at this year’s Wimbledon will, for the first time, be allowed to wear black undershorts in a change to the tournament’s traditional all-white dress code.

The new England kits are due to go on sale from Monday, June 5 ahead of the Women's World Cup later this summer.