According to Reuters, the 2018 world cup was watched by a record number of 3.5 billion people around the world. The 2018 world cup also generated 5 million tourists in Russia, as per Inside Sport‘s report.
Tourists wanting to get the full experience buy jerseys to wear to the game. In those terms, it becomes obvious that kit sponsors, mainly Nike and Adidas, want to capitalize on the hype that the biggest tournament in the world generates.
It’s the perfect occasion to buy jerseys for foreign teams. Who can forget the iconic Nigerian kit back in 2018 which was regarded as the “Holy Grail of football jerseys”.
Nike really hit it out of the park with that one as it got sold out very quickly. Retailers, ‘Pro: Direct’ had to restock the jerseys in the month of February, four months before the World Cup would begin, according to Cam Wolf of GQ Magazine.
In a never-ending journey to wow fans with new designs and earn their money, sometimes kit sponsors may develop a design that is not well received. Brazil’s 2022 World Cup Jersey looks like the latest example of this.
According to leaks, the iconic yellow Jersey of Brazil will feature ‘dynamic yellow’ which is supposed to be a ‘stronger’ yellow than before and will also rock a collar.
The second kit for the World Cup is blue and ditches the collar and has yellow cheetah spots on the sleeves.
Fans around the world are always excited for new kits, and so their reaction to these kits is always strong; be it for better or worse. In this case, it was for the worse.
What the hell is the left one?! Bro this ain’t no tennis tournament
— TheACMilanMan (@TheACMilanMan) March 31, 2022
This maybe be the last straw to get me to get US citizenship and renounce my Brazilian status
— JayP_ICG 🧉🇧🇷🇧🇼🐤 (@JayP_ICG) March 31, 2022
Fans online are of the opinion that ‘cleaner’ looking kits are mostly well-received, with Nigerian Kits being amongst the exceptions.
And so, “Why didn’t they keep it simple?” was a popular critique of this jersey amongst the fans.
Whether people will flock to buy these when they get released isn’t guaranteed at the moment, but the World Cup craze gets to everyone.
Nike has 8 long months ahead of them as the World Cup starts on the 18th of December, the only tournament Brazil is likely to fashion these kits in.