Afghanistan national women football team has gotten a new jersey design in which a hijab is connected to the base of the team shirt.
A hijab is a veil that covers the head and chest, particularly worn by some Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family.
It can further refer to any head, face, or body covering worn by Muslim women that conforms to a certain standard of modesty.
The Asian nation becomes the first to adopt this modest form of dressing in football.
Though optional, the new creation also includes leggings, which will make it easier for women to combine their soccer with their faith.
“This jersey is the Afghani team uniform and I am proud to be a role model for thousands of young girls and women back home in Afghanistan,” said Khalida Popal, the team’s former captain. “It is very special to me. It is our identity.”
hummel and the Afghan Football Federation present a new national team shirt: https://t.co/dtIBvdAT5j pic.twitter.com/iImyqJdn3m
— hummel International (@hummel1923) March 8, 2016
The outfit was designed by Danish sportswear brand Hummel, the company that also makes the national team uniforms for Denmark and Lithuania.
Playing football in Afghanistan can be dangerous for women, so many members of the national team live in Europe.
“Football was not easy for us to play, especially in a male-dominated country,” Popal told The Associated Press. “It was not acceptable for women to play. Football is a man’s game.”
When women are allowed to play in Afghanistan, they are usually required to wear a headscarf. But that often proves tricky with the cloth sometimes falling over the players’ eyes.
“So we thought of this solution, the sports hijab that is part of the whole package we made for the Afghan Football Federation,” Hummel owner Christian Stadil said. “We wanted to make one that is cool and fashionable.”
