England’s new away shirt is more popular than the home kit for the first time ever, with one retail giant selling more purple away strips than its traditional white counterpart. A social media storm took hold after Nike unveiled the new England kits last week, with some fans being left very upset over what they felt was a ‘woke’ design feature.
The home strip features a stylised version of the England flag, with purple and blue adorning the St George’s Cross motif on the back of the collar. The decision to tweak the colours was described as a ‘playful update’ by Nike but the controversial move was heavily slammed by fans and politicians alike.
The modified flag is also used on England’s new away shirt but instead of sitting on the outside of the back collar it is hidden on the inside. It seems the purple and gold number is proving a hit with supporters, with high street giant JD Sports revealing it has sold more away shirts despite the home kit traditionally being more popular.
Regis Schulz, chief executive of JD Sports, told The Sun: “It has only been two or three days of trading and so far it has been OK. 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. We have more shirts than normal. We had a bigger order, so that might be why.”
It comes after Nike insisted they never intended to upset fans by altering the colours of the St George’s Cross for England’s latest home kit. The design feature is nothing new, with the home shirt in 2011 featuring the cross in four different colours. Meanwhile, the goalkeeper kit from the same year carried a pattern of the national flag in varying shades of green.
A statement from Nike 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.”
The FA also pointed out that different colours have been used for the cross on previous kits, saying: “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.”
