Women’s soccer uniforms are beginning to head in a new direction, thanks to Manchester City’s women’s soccer team. Manchester City said goodbye to their white uniform shorts so that their players don’t have to worry about playing while on their period. I’m sure we all could think back to a time when this was a concern, whether it was playing recreational sports, club sports, high school sports, or even college sports as well.
Meredith Cash of Insider.com initially reported back in October of 2022 on this change, which was originally supposed to take effect in the 2023-2024 season. Upon further discussion, the players, as well as the coaching staff and the company that supplies the teams’ uniforms decided to expedite the change. Manchester City and PUMA, their uniform supplier, came to this decision because of the response that players want to be able to play on their period, while still having the ability “to feel comfortable and perform at their highest level”.
In the article, Man City’s coach Gareth Taylor said that “everyone would agree we’re moving things forward”. Taylor also said that “There’s plenty of considerations now for female athletes which are important for them to be the best versions of themselves.”
England’s women’s team the Lionesses were initiating and engaging in discussions of changing the uniforms while aiming to win the European Championship. Cash was also able to find out that the FA, which is England’s football association, was and still is heavily considering the change and is working with Nike, who sponsors the team.
Man City’s coach commended the fact that there’s “much better awareness” and how it’s impacting the athletes who have to play through their period.
Now, the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is following suit in getting rid of the white uniform shorts, amid the players’ concerns about playing while on their period.
Natasha Dye of Yahoo! Sports wrote about the change and what impact it’s going to have on the players. As per the team’s statement, “The Pride will now wear black shorts instead of the team’s previous color, white, to prevent players from the concern of stains while they’re on their periods.” The statement claims the main reason behind the team’s decision to change the color of the shorts is for the players to be “more comfortable and confident when playing during their menstrual cycle.”
One of the team’s forwards Erika Tymrak praised the change and said it’s “a big step for us as a club” and that it is going to “make the players feel comfortable”.
A big question that has yet to be answered is whether or not women’s teams across all skill levels will follow what these professional teams are doing. Think of the women’s sports teams here on our campus and how they go about playing while on their period. What steps do our female athletes take to ensure that there is no concern while competing?
These professional teams changing their uniform shorts are a small but mighty step in changing how female athletes, across all levels, go about competing while navigating through their menstrual cycle. It’s about time that teams of all levels start considering this in choosing uniforms for their female athletes.