The evolution of tight-fitting football uniforms
On a midsummer night, you meet up with your teammates you haven’t seen for a long time, and you fight hard on the green field and win the game. Amid the cheers of your teammates, you go off the field and start to take off your jalkapallopuvut, mutta – hiss – your jersey rips. You contribute the biggest laugh of the game and win the sharpest whistle. This scene makes people wonder, why are today’s jerseys so close to the body and so difficult to take off?
From fat to thin: the evolution of jersey design
In the 1990s, jerseys were designed to be very fat in the football world, because the fashion trend of that era was “one piece of clothing should fit people of all physiques”. kuitenkin, in the 21st century, people began to realize that this fat football uniforms, which caught the wind like a parachute when running, might limit the performance of players. If players wear a tighter jersey, they can reduce wind resistance, show their true strength, and show their body shape. Isn’t it a win-win situation? Tuloksena, football jerseys are really getting more and more close-fitting.
Jerseys are close-fitting and enhance sports performance
The most obvious benefit of a thinner jersey is that the clothes are close to the skin. The new functions given to the modified clothing fabric can be directly passed on to the players. Sisään 2010, Adidas used TechFit PowerWeb technology for the first time in the jerseys designed for the World Cup.
Highly elastic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) bands are pressed onto the base layer of the close-fitting TechFit garment, extending along important muscle bundles to help players support the natural expansion and contraction of the musculoskeletal system, enhance the endurance and responsiveness of key muscle groups, and maximize the performance of athletes. Using this technology can increase an athlete’s strength by 5.3%, vertical jump ability by 4%, sprint speed by 1.1%, and endurance by 0.8%.
Sisään 2016, Nike released the NIKE Vapor jersey, which not only uses non-transparent breathable yarns enhanced by Nike AeroSwift technology, but also partitions the overall jersey weaving process, using single-layer weaving in areas where players need breathability, double-layer weaving in areas that need more structural support, and can leave ventilation holes in specific areas as needed. The overall wearing comfort of the jersey made in this way will be improved, and compared with the previous generation of jerseys, this NIKE Vapor jersey has a 20% higher sweat wicking rate, a 25% faster drying rate, a 50% higher elasticity, a 10% lighter mass, and a softer touch.
At the 2024 European Cup, Adidas and Nike are still the two brands with the highest market share. The former uses HEAT.RDY (provides a cool feeling) or AEROREADY (accelerates perspiration) technology in the jerseys of different teams. The application of these high-tech fabrics and designs not only improves the performance of players on the field, but also makes the jerseys reach new heights in functionality and comfort.
Referee’s perspective: clearer basis for penalties
After abandoning the fat version, referees can also see foul actions such as pulling more clearly when making penalties. In fierce football matches, the referee’s penalty is crucial to the fairness and smoothness of the game. Tight jerseys reduce the gaps between jerseys, allowing referees to more clearly observe the physical contact and movement details between players, so as to make more accurate penalties. kuitenkin, this also brings a problem, that is, tight jerseys are more easily damaged when pulled. At the 2016 European Cup, the Swiss team had 5 jerseys torn in one game, and the manufacturer PUMA was to blame.
Jerseys are close-fitting, not everyone likes them
Although tight-fitting jerseys have many advantages in improving sports performance and the viewing experience of the game, they are not without disadvantages. In the case of a lot of sweating during high-intensity exercise, tight-fitting jerseys will still face difficulties in putting on and taking off, and may even be directly torn and scrapped during the process of putting on and taking off or pulling. After a lot of sweating, the feeling of close-fitting clothes sticking to the body is not something that everyone (especially amateur fans) is willing to accept.
Samaan aikaan, for fans with average figures but fanatical, it is more difficult to wear the same close-fitting jerseys as stars and look good. This also limits the popularity of tight-fitting jerseys among fans to a certain extent. kuitenkin, in order to meet the needs of different consumers, some brands have also launched jerseys of different versions. Esimerkiksi, the NIKE Vapor football uniforms has Match and Stadium versions. The former is more close-fitting and suitable for athletes to wear on the court, which can highlight the beauty of the athlete’s muscle lines; the latter is looser and can be purchased by fans of all sizes.
The jerseys of the future: the integration of technology and function
Thanks to the development of functional synthetic fibers, jerseys no longer become heavier when they absorb sweat like the original pure cotton ones. Even the Puma jerseys worn by the Italian team in 2021 weigh only 72 grammaa, which is equivalent to the mass of an egg. Jerseys can even have other functions besides wearing, such as collecting athletes’ physical data. Around 2000, people still had to record game videos and do a lot of work on time-motion analysis systems to analyze players’ sports performance.
Today, during training, the smart jerseys, rannerenkaita, and shoes worn by players can collect relevant data when players kick the ball without hindering their movements, analyze the speed, movement distance, heart rate and other related data of the players, so as to assist in scientific training and provide reference for coaches to adjust tactics.
Even at the 2018 World Cup, the International Football Association Board changed the rules for the use of electronic devices, stipulating that teams can use the Electronic Performance Tracking System (EPTS). EPTS will be equipped with two sets of optical tracking cameras in the field, and various key data of players on the field will be tracked through GPS and sensor chips installed in jerseys and shoes, so that team members including coaches and medical staff outside the field can receive videos and data analysis of players on EPTS, and conduct quantitative analysis of each action.
As multidisciplinary fields grow in importance, jerseys could have more use. Jerseys might, esimerkiksi, have the ability to automatically repair when damaged, so extending their service life; or they might automatically change the breathability and warmth based on the body temperature and ambient temperature, so giving players a more comfortable wearing experience. Lisäksi, jerseys could be paired with augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technologies to provide the audience a more realistic viewing experience therefore enabling their more natural feeling of the game’s stress and intensity.
Ystar: Innovator and promoter of tight jerseys
As a professional football uniforms manufacturer, Ystar Wear (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., is also always researching and developing in the production of tight jerseys. Ystar, which first opened in 2006, has grown to be among China’s top sources of sportswear and football wear. By means of design-based customisation, quality management system certification, and ODM services, the company satisfies the needs of various consumers and is dedicated to provide them with outstanding services and premium products.
Ystar keeps spending in product research and development and design as it understands the need of tight jerseys in enhancing sports performance and satisfying market demand. The firm may efficiently lower wind resistance by designing football jerseys using ergonomic principles and cutting-edge fabric technologies that fit and are pleasant. Ystar simultaneously addresses the issues of tight jerseys in wearing and taking off and durability as well as enhances jersey elasticity and wear resistance by always refining materials and manufacturing techniques.
Sen lisäksi, Ystar is actively growing the global market and mostly markets its products to North America, Oseania, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central America. This not only shows Ystar products’ worldwide competitiveness but also highlights the company’s impact in the worldwide football apparel scene. By means of collaboration and interactions with globally well-known companies, Ystar keeps learning and leveraging cutting-edge design ideas and technology to raise the quality of its products and stimulate innovative capacity.
The joint influence of technical advancement, design concept revisions and changes in market demand produces the alteration of tight-fitting football uniforms. From the first big style to the current slim form, the jerseys have not only been much enhanced in terms of utility but also have a significant influence on the aesthetic and cultural levels. Tight-fitting jerseys let athletes play more freely on the field and provide an amazing visual feast for the viewers.
Tight-fitting jerseys do, kuitenkin, also have certain drawbacks including trouble putting on and off, durability problems, and customer adaptation to varied body forms. With ongoing technological innovation and progress, I hope these issues will be resolved in the future and football uniforms will also bring in a more diversified and intelligent growth. Companies like Ystar will always be crucial in this industry, support the ongoing innovation and development of football uniforms, and provide their own strength to help football to flourish.
