If you’re a football fanatic, get ready for an exhilarating summer ahead! After a four-year hiatus, the Euros 2024 are just around the corner, and we just can’t keep our calm. The tournament is slated to kick off on June 14th at the Munich Football Arena, with Germany taking the helm as the host nation.
These are exciting weeks as the anticipation for the tournament builds, with international teams revealing their kits. Adidas has already set the stage by releasing home and away kits for seven of its federations, and now reports suggest that Nike is also scheduled to launch their kits.
According to HNS (Croatian Football Federation), Croatia’s Euro 2024 kits are set to be unveiled on Monday, March 18th, in Zagreb. Having said that, leaked images of he kit have already surfaced on the internet and if those are indeed true, Nike has some explaining to do.
The Croatian national team previously sported gear from various brands, including Lotto from 1996 to 1998, Kappa in 1994, and Umbro in 1993 before transitioning to Nike in 2000, which has remained their kit supplier ever since, with the Croatian board further prolonging their association with Nike by extending the contract until 2026
“I am proud that Nike, the world’s leader, wanted to extend the HNS contract up to 2026,” said Croatian legend and HNS president Davor Šuker.
That said, the emergence of leaked images of the 2024 home kit is bound to raise doubts about the prudence of extending the contract.
New Croatia Home Kit
The Croatia home kit has always been based on a white and red checkered design.
For those unaware, the inspiration for the checkerboard design on the Croatian jerseys is derived from the country’s coat of arms, which features a shield with a red and white checkerboard design in the background.
This design itself has been present in many iterations of the coat of arms and other national symbols of Croatia since the 15th century.
Nike has remained faithful to this tradition, crafting a kit with a similar base design. However, while we are accustomed to the design of small red and white checks, Nike has incorporated some massive red checks that drastically alter the appearance.
On the front, the Nike Croatia 2024 shirt features two full rectangular and two half red checkers, along with two half and two full white checkers arranged alternately. Strangely, the kit also includes two half red checks positioned at the lower back against an overall white-colored base.
Nike has opted for a white V-shaped collar this time, with the branding of HNS underneath. While not officially confirmed, it is likely that Nike’s kit will be made from 100% recycled polyester and feature their Dri-FIT technology. This technology effectively wicks away sweat, ensuring players remain dry and comfortable during play.
The sleeves of the kit are simple and white in color. As for the badging, the kit features a white swoosh logo on the right side and the Croatia emblem on the left. The color of the shorts has not been revealed as of yet, but if history is any indication, Croatia is likely to complete the ensemble with white shorts. However, truth be told, there is some skepticism surrounding the kit design as it hasn’t quite won over the public’s approval.
How people feel about this kit
Just when everyone thought it was impossible to mess up the simple Croatian check design, Nike has defied expectations. Fans are pointing out that the Croatian kit is supposed to be checkered, whereas the Nike kit appears to be more rectangular in design.
Some have even humorously suggested that Croatia would be better off playing in a promotional kit launched by their sponsor, the beer company Ožujsko Pivo.
Interestingly, a user on X.com has uploaded a photo of the Croatian Rugby team revealing their home kit and has pointed out that even the Rugby team boasts a much better kit design than the much more popular football Euro kit. And we can’t deny their accusation. Maybe people would feel better if the Croatian board could manage to loan the Croatian Rugby shirt for the football team for the Euro tournament.
On the flip side, there are a few who have come ahead in support of Nike, arguing that the brand should be spared undue criticism as it’s challenging to maintain innovation within the confines of the same design format. We can’t disagree with this perspective, but it’s just that at the end of the day, it is Nike, and we do expect some eye-catching designs from them.
Folks have absolutely no concept of what it takes to try and move the form of kit design forward. For anyone who knows, something like this has been many cycles coming and any attempt to push things forward, I believe, should be applauded.
— StewartSC (@stewartsc) March 16, 2024
A handful of individuals on X.com have expressed the viewpoint that the kit, while not particularly exciting, may be characterized more as minimalistic in design rather than outright bad, and, as a matter of fact, looks quite clean. One user suggested that perhaps when the kit is worn on the field in Germany, complete with kit numbers and name patches on the back, it could appear more appealing to the eye.
Maybe it looks better with patches and numbers 🤷🏻♂️
— Landon (@Landolicious) March 16, 2024
Well, to verify that, we have to wait until June 15th when Croatia will debut their Euro campaign in this kit jersey against Luis de la Fuente’s Spain in Berlin. We can argue about the kit all we want, but surely Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić would hope to replicate their World Cup 2018 runs and etch this kit in their history books. If you also want to be part of it, the kits are likely to be available in retail in just a couple of weeks.