Following three years and two shirts that put paid to tradition, adidas revert back to a more classical feel for the Mexico 2022 home shirt, albeit with a brand new crest. The shirt will be worn at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year, but will be displayed on field for the first time by the Mexican women's team at the qualifying game for the 2023 World Cup against the USA on 11 July in Nuevo León
While radical in its execution, last year’s Mexico home shirt ruffled a lot of feathers by coming in in a black base with a pink grecas pattern dominating the look. Now though, adidas go back to a look that is far more akin to what one would imagine a Mexico shirt to look – for starters it’s green, which always helps. Further than that though, the design is also inspired by one of the nation's major deities: Quetzalcoatl, “the Feathered Serpent." Considered the god of life and creator of the world and humanity, his unique strength inspires the team to break down every barrier in the biggest sporting competition on the world and go further than ever before. Yeah, always good to have a god in your corner.
So, that graphic that dominates the design is actually supposed to represent a feathered headdress called a “copilli” in Mexican, which in Ancient Mexican culture, represented religious and noble power, lending spiritual strength and valor to anyone who wears it. The neck of the is rounded, with red stripes, and the back resembles Quetzalcoatl's plumage, turning every player into their own god, to give fully of themselves and take the field with supreme power in every play.
James Webb, Senior Product Designer at adidas, said: “For this season’s home jersey which will be worn on football’s biggest stage, we wanted to capture the spirit of the nation with a design that is deeply rooted in the culture of Mexico. The head and feathered headdress of Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl is displayed with pride on the shirt which features a completely new crest. We hope it will help be a symbol to bring the players and fans together as they meet with their toughest opponents.”
Pick up the Mexico 2022 home shirt at prodirectsoccer.com