When you are forking out well over £100 for a football shirt, you expect to be getting a premium quality kit, not something that makes you look like a 1980s fashion guru.
But if your country is donning a Nike kit in the World Cup this summer, and you want to splash the cash on their new jerseys, beware of a defect that has you resembling an astronaut aboard Artemis II rather than your favourite football stars.
In March, the global sportswear brand released its new haul of kits for this summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, with national teams such as England, France, and two of the hosts sporting what seemed like a stunning collection of shirts.
Reaction to the design of their new threads was initially positive, but after their use during the international break, fans spotted a manufacturing error: the shoulder seam has a significant bulge.
After much criticism on social media from fans who have spent bucketloads on such shirts – England’s home jersey costs up to £135 on the Three Lions’ website – Nike has now acknowledged the comical flaw.
The company said in a statement: ‘During the recent international break, we observed a minor issue with our Nike national team kits, most noticeable around the shoulder seam.
‘Performance is unaffected, but the overall aesthetic is not where it needs to be.’
The shoulder bulge was most apparent during England’s disappointing 1-0 defeat by Japan last week, with Cole Palmer’s shirt riding bizarrely high at the seams.
It was also a clear problem on France captain Kylian Mbappe’s shirt when he was celebrating scoring against Brazil, and also Federico Valverde’s jersey in Uruguay’s draw with Thomas Tuchel’s side.
‘We are a global team of best-in-class designers, creators and dreamers who spend every day thinking about how to innovate, challenge ourselves, and take risks that push the beautiful game,’ Nike told the Guardian.
‘We always hold ourselves and our products to the highest standards and this fell short. We’re working quickly to make this right for players and fans, because every kit should reflect the care, precision and pride that the game deserves.’
Canada are another national team that has a kit deal with Nike, and one fan didn’t hold back on Reddit after purchasing their home strip.
In a post showing the defect, the Canadian lambasted the ‘stupid design’ for which he paid 135 CAD.
‘It’s actually a complete joke,’ the post started. I was ready to finally splash the cash on a kit this summer, but these Nike kits don’t have a fit problem in that they might be too long or too short for some people… the way the shoulders are sewn together just makes them bunch like this, no matter what.
‘I think they might work if your shoulders are narrow. I have wider shoulders, and there’s just no way to not make this shoulder line not bunch.
‘This is a stupid, STUPID design. I was looking forward to getting this kit as well because the design looks nice, but the execution is a joke. $135 CAD for this.’
Many Reddit users agreed with the post, with one even admitting they will avoid spending money on the new kits for the first time in 20 years.
A comment on the post read: ‘Couldn’t agree more, I’ve bought the Dutch jersey every year since 2006 and this is the first time I won’t be buying. I went this past weekend to go try them on and was so disappointed.
‘Maybe when it goes on sale in four months but my god Nike has fallen off for a while now. What a shame, this might sound dumb but getting the new jersey is something I have always really looked forward too growing up, so seeing how poorly made these are makes me sad.’
It has been reported that Nike partially leaned on AI during the design process for their latest cohort of kits.
The sportswear giant is now said to be in conversation with the relevant federations and retailers regarding ‘next steps’ with the shirts.
