Italy’s national football teams are drawing on some rock-solid inspiration for their new kits.
After unveiling a new crest on January 2, the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) released the new kits on Tuesday, January 17 — the first kits under a new contract with manufacturer Adidas after 20 years with Puma.
The kits use the same template that national teams outfitted by Adidas used at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The home kit is Italy’s traditional shade of blue, with a tonal pattern all over the front and sleeves resembling marble — “a natural, geographical and cultural element that represents the whole of Italy and has been present in many monuments and places throughout the Italian Peninsula over the centuries,” according to a press release from Adidas.
The crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs are solid blue with gold trim. The word “ITALIA” is printed in white on the back collar. The Adidas shoulder stripes are white, with borderlines added to each to recreate the colors of the Italian flag. The flag can also be seen in the striping that runs down each side of the jersey and across the back hem.
The marble motif is more pronounced on the away kit, which has dark blue and gold streaks running across an off-white base. The sleeve cuffs, collar detailing and side/hem stripes are all dark blue.
The Adidas shoulder stripes are also dark blue, but again feature borders in the colors of the Italian flag. The away kit uses the version of the new national team crest with a white shield and a blue outline. “ITALIA” is again printed on the back collar, this time in dark blue.
Customization options on the FIGC’s online store shows both the home and away kits with new bespoke fonts for the names and numbers. The beveled serif font is similar to the “ITALIA” on the back collar of both kits.
“Today we are entering into a new era and we are proud to be doing it with Adidas, which has best interpreted, and in a modern way, the passion and the tradition of the Azzurri,” said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina. “For 113 years, the Italian national football team has represented a symbol of values and style around the world, our football kit is a national heritage that goes beyond sport, because it transmits feelings that unite people of different ages, sexes and social backgrounds. The male and female national football teams represent a strong element of identity, that we will enhance to the fullest with this new partnership.”
“Italy is one of the most storied and successful national teams in all of football. We are very proud to officially welcome the FIGC and all its teams to the Adidas family and we look forward to a successful partnership together,” added Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden. “At the same time, we are tremendously excited to finally be able to share with the world our fantastic lineup of products including beautiful home and away kits. They are quintessentially Italian and elegant while staying true to the iconic heritage of the Azzurri.”
In addition to the match jerseys, Adidas and the FIGC released several pieces of training and lifestyle wear on Tuesday. This include a pre-match top that continues the marble motif but incorporates more of the Italian flag colors and a pullover jacket with a retro crest that was used from 1992 to 2000.
Along with the kits, Adidas and the FIGC have also launched a new campaign called “The Search — La Ricerca” in which national team players past and present help a young boy hunt for precious treasure in a forest.
The new home kit will be worn for the first time by Italy’s under-18 national team in a friendly against Spain on Wednesday, January 18, at the Technical Federal Centre of Coverciano. According to Adidas, this will be the first time a youth team has debuted a new national team jersey before either the men’s or women’s senior team.
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