The men’s national teams of both Germany and Belgium wore the kit designs of their respective nations’ women’s national teams in games this week as a show of support heading into the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament.
Germany wore their women’s team’s kit on Tuesday, June 7, in a Nations League match against England at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The Belgians followed suit on Wednesday, June 8, in a Nations League match against Poland at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
“With this campaign, the Flames are taking over the torch from the Red Devils to defend our honour on the international stage,” said Manu Leroy, director of marketing and communications for the Royal Belgium Football Association, on the RBFA website. “The campaign will stir up the enthusiasm of our supporters for the European Championship and will give our women an extra push to surpass themselves during this EURO.”
“It’s really cool. I’m curious to see whether the men’s jerseys look better than us,” German national women’s team player Sara Doorsoun said during a video call Tuesday, according to soccer magazine Kicker.
“This is a small greeting from our men’s team to all of us that we support each other,” added Annette Seitz, a spokesperson for the German women’s team.
Germany and England played to a 1-1 draw in their match Tuesday. Wednesday’s match saw Belgium defeat Poland 6-1.
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament kicks off July 6 in England.
UPDATE (June 12, 2022): Two more men’s national teams are throwing their support behind their women’s teams by wearing their kit designs.
The Spanish men’s team wore the country’s women’s team design in a UEFA Nations League match against the Czech Republic on Sunday, June 12, in Malaga, Spain. And the Danish men’s team will wear their counterparts’ kit design on Monday, June 13, in a Nations League match against Austria in Copenhagen.