EVERY year the world’s leading football clubs will change up their shirts for a different design.
One club included on that list is Aston Villa – but who designed the kit and what have the players said in response? Here’s everything you need to know.
Lucy Staniforth pictured wearing the kitRex
Who designed Aston Villa’s kit?
Aston Villa’s 2023-2024 kit was designed by British kit supplier Castore.
The Manchester-based manufacturer are in the second season of a ”multi-year” deal with the club.
Castore’s tagline reads: “Demand better – premium performance.”
Andy Murray had a deal with the sports brand before they moved into football with Rangers.
Since then the company has expanded rapidly, taking on deals with Newcastle, Villa and Wolves, as well as Feyenoord and many more.
They also manufacture gear for McLaren and Red Bull Racing, the Irish national football team and England cricket.
What have the players said about the new kit?
Both the men’s and women’s team have reportedly complained about the new ”wet-look” shirt and say it impacts their performances.
The kit appears to retain sweat and become heavy for those sporting the shirt.
This came to light in September 2023, as several fans and kit experts noticed that Villa’s Castore jerseys seemed to cling the players’ bodies.
Members of the men’s first-team squad were left looking like they had been drenched during their Europa Conference League clash with Legia Warsaw.
Although Villa’s home shirts appeared to suffer with the issue, Emiliano Martinez’s goalkeeper top appeared to be fine.
Similarly, Aston Villa Women were forced to wear the ‘wet-look’ shirt as the WSL got underway with the Midlands-based side kicking things off against Manchester United.
A source close to the team said they were “deeply concerned” about wearing the kits, with another describing them as feeling “really bad” to play in.
Speaking ahead of kick-off, Aston Villa Women’s boss Carla Ward said: “It’s up to the football club’s legal team and Castore to discuss that and deal with that.
“It’s something I’ve tried to completely ignore as difficult as that is.
“The football club are in full control of that. They’ve been excellent with us, myself and the players around it.”
The kit manufacturers responded to the controversy by stating they intend to ”address this issue as quickly as possible to meet the standards we expect”.
A Castore spokesperson said: “There has been some media speculation about a potential issue in the football kit supplied by Castore to Aston Villa Football Club.
”We are working closely in collaboration with the club to address this issue as quickly as possible to meet the standards we expect. We would like to thank the club for their patience and support to date.
”As a proud new British brand, we always hold ourselves to the highest of standards and strive to do everything we can to constantly improve the performance of our products. This means addressing any customer concerns with promptness and humility.”
There have been reports that Villa could terminate their deal with Castore.
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