The new alternative jersey of the Argentina national team for the Qatar 2022 World Cup: purple, inspired by gender equality and with national symbols.
There is nothing written about tastes, the saying goes. He is known. If there are people who don’t like Milanese with french fries, how can there not be people who don’t like the design of a football shirt. It happened in the last few hours when the new alternative jacket that the Argentina national team in the Qatar World Cup 2022. Color viola, inspired by gender equality, has provoked an avalanche of criticism. But, also, the support of many others, even if with a much less harmonic body. Social networks, that forum in which anyone believes they have the right – indeed they do – to say anything at no cost, have become a bonfire. And the anonymous rumors and suspicions multiplied without even knowing the origin of the story.
Some critics of bar tables, those who raise their voices for any cause, no matter how ridiculous, raised an esoteric theory: The choice of purple and the decision to promote gender equality would in fact hide the determination to remove blue from the color palette of Argentine t-shirts. And the reason has to do with bad luck. The blue is associated with the finals lost in Italy 1990 and Brazil 2014, when the national team failed to defeat Germany.
Is the blue mufa? Witch or sorcerer thing. In Mexico 1986, Argentina wore that jersey in the quarter-finals against England and Diego Maradona scored the most beautiful and spectacular goal of all the World Cup. So cursed is that color that a man whose identity is still unknown has invested millions of dollars to withhold 10 of the magic left foot’s two goals. Eye, it is insisted, is blue. It would be necessary to warn him quickly because misfortune could invade him and he loses all the fortune he has stored in his palace in the Middle East.
Word Adidas
Now, how did the idea of wearing the purple shirt come about? Ricardo GortariSports marketing manager of Adidas Argentinahe explained to Clarione the genesis and how the idea was formed. Far from being an anti-mufa recipe, it was a conscientious work that began over a year and a half ago.
“It all stemmed from the image of the Sun we used in the previous project which made a good impression. From there the brainstorming started and we thought about the Sun and its effects. The image of him reflected in the mountains, in the water, orange … Until the purple appeared. And we started working with that color and its association with gender equality. And that was refined until we got AFA validation, ”Gortari detailed.
And he continued: “Also it has to do with the values of the company, which are in tune with the values of the AFA. We have been working for a long time to promote gender equality. As is the case in society, which is currently on the agenda every day, there are a lot of debts we still have with women and this is one way to start paying them. Because not only do we want to be inspired by women, but we want to do it with women“.
This is not an isolated action. The AFA and Adidas presented the starting shirt last July, the usual blue and white, with black finishes. They anticipated the launches of the other selected teams that will go to Qatar – they had to ask for authorization – because the idea was that this model would be released by the national team that participated in the women’s Copa América. Yes, the shirt was officially worn by Estefanía Banini and Dalila Ippolito and their teammates before Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María and teammates, who haven’t even worn it for a friendly yet.
“In the case of purple, which is an alternative jacket and not a substitute, it is not a women’s model. It will be the jersey that the national team players will wear in Qatar 2022 in case it is necessary to differentiate from an opponent’s jersey. The national team jersey is and will be blue and white. There is no discussion about this. Furthermore, few remember that the alternative in the last World Cup, in Russia 2018, was black. What does black have to do with the history of Argentina? Black belongs to the All Blacks ”, underlined Gortari, who is one of the strong men of the German brand in the country, speaking with this newspaper.
And he closed: “I don’t remember that there was so much controversy surrounding that design. Likewise, it is good that there is dissent. It’s nice to talk about it. This is the spirit of this idea. To appreciate the differences. To promote equality. To talk about everything “.
A bit of history
A little history is worth it. Why is purple associated with the feminist collective? It was born from a tragic episode that happened on March 25, 1911, when a textile factory in New York, the Triangle Waist Co., in which mainly immigrant women worked, burned down. 146 people died and another 70 were injured with burns of varying degrees. The smoke emanating from the fire was surprisingly purple due to the color of the threads used to make the shirts. Since that distant moment, the viola has been associated with the struggle for women’s rights.
It is a question of making differences visible so as not to hide prejudices and old beliefs under the carpet. From that tragedy in New York at the beginning of the century to one of the jerseys that the national team will wear at the World Cup. What better showcase to take a step forward.
Martin Voogd
Source: Clarin
