The FAI has today officially released the much-anticipated new Irish football jersey. Designed by Ireland's newest kit supplier Castore, the jersey will make its official debut on Wednesday's encounter with Latvia in Dublin
With excitement building about what could be for months now, Irish fans have been drip-fed the upgrades over the last three weeks getting the final look this afternoon.
The latest jersey and crest are supposed to be a throwback to the glory days of Irish football, with the return of the shamrock, the circular crest, the retro stripes and a collar suitable for the 1980s, we can certainly see that Castore has been going for the retro look.
The FAI is proud to launch our new Ireland National Team home kit.
Developed with Castore, our new kit celebrates our colours and honours the history of our jersey, whilst ensuring it has a modern look for today's game.
Pre-order now https://t.co/FxaLHCfBmC#IrelandFootball pic.twitter.com/Md3Xp7rR1A— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 20, 2023
The jersey also says Éire on the back, which is a great addition.
🇮🇪| Éire will be on the back of the new Ireland kit
I think we all wanted it on the new crest but at least it’ll be on our new shirts
💚 pic.twitter.com/1MvD1lztvF— IrishPropaganda🇮🇪⚽️ (@IrishPropaganda) March 17, 2023
Mixed response
A trawl through social media finds mixed reaction to the new jersey. Castore makes kits for Newcastle and Charlton but its their role as kit manufacturer of Rangers that many fans find off-putting. Some look at it and see the Rangers kit.
Just incase you haven't seen it yet, Castore's new Ireland jersey is a reskin of a Rangers jersey from this season, just in different colours.
Of all the teams...
This isn't going to go down well with fans. pic.twitter.com/cNtwQg75bt— Michael Tuohy 🇮🇪 (@MicTuathaigh) March 19, 2023
In a press release, Castore founder Tom Beahon spoke of the company's pride to make the Ireland jersey and acknowledged the company's 'responsibility' to tradition as jersey designers:
We are extraordinarily proud that Castore will have the honour of producing the iconic Ireland jersey until 2028 and we fully understand the responsibility we have to carry on that tradition and history. Along with our financial commitment to the FAI, we will invest significantly into the FAI’s e-commerce infrastructure, providing a best-in-class online shop for Ireland fans home and abroad and will align with the FAI’s strategic ambition to embrace digital technologies to better connect with all fans.
While the men's team are set to don the home kit for Wednesday's game with Latvia, we won't see the away kit in action until April when the women's side head to Missouri in preparation for the World Cup.
For fans looking to kit out in the set come Wednesday unfortunately it's bad news, so far the Ireland jersey is only available for pre-order with adult sizes setting you back at least 80 euro.
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