Orlando Pride announces uniform color change to make players on their period more comfortable

The Orlando Pride, a women’s soccer team from the United States, announced this Tuesday that it will adopt black shorts in the white uniform of the team, the second. The goal is to bring more comfort and peace of mind to players who are in action during their menstrual period.

The initiative is not unprecedented: Manchester City, from England, abolished white shorts from the main uniform of the women’s team last year. The team plays with the shirt and socks in the traditional blue, but the shorts are in the garnet color.

“We must end the stigma surrounding the discussion of health issues that impact trans and non-binary women and athletes if we are to maximize performance and increase accessibility to the sport,” said Orlando Vice President of Soccer Haley Carter. – The experience that players have and the comfort they feel wearing our uniform is a key issue for us. We will continue to move forward to make Orlando a world-class club for our athletes.

Midfielder Erika Timrak celebrated the uniform change:

– The reasons why we don’t want to play with white shorts are obvious, but unfortunately something similar has not been done so far. I think it’s a big step for Orlando as a club to make their players more comfortable and allow us to focus on the competition.

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, the percentage of 14-year-old girls who give up playing sports is double that of boys at the same age, with puberty and entry in menstrual cycles being one of the factors for this.