PSL
New Downs kit unveiled
2011-07-12 13:26
Siyanda Xulu and Teko Modise (Gallo)
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Johannesburg - The new Mamelodi Sundowns kit is finally out, as it was anticipated with bated breath by fans.
The Brazilians and Nike officially presented the home and away kits for the 2011/2012 season at the Nike Store in Merlyn Park Shopping Centre, Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Their kit is inspired by a futuristic look that symbolises new beginnings. It is made from Nike’s ground-breaking recycled polyester - which for the first time includes both the shirt and shorts.
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club will play in a new home kit with high performance material of unique style - traditional yellow and green club colours, infused with a distinctive sublimated pro-gold geometric stripe print.
The tradition and the heritage of the South African ‘Brazilians’ are rooted in the home shirt design. The classic, refined collar features the traditional Sundowns green, which extends down the shoulders to the sleeve.
Sundowns is written on the back of the shirt, while the inside front, on the back of the crest, reads, ‘The Sky is the Limit’, which is the Brazilians' renowned motto and looks to signal the new era.
The body of the new away jersey features the geometric stripe print in the Club’s traditional away colours of blue and white, making the shirt look fast and contemporary.
While these geometric stripes are partly influenced by modern aesthetics, it is the Club’s motto - ‘The Sky is the Limit’ that inspires this unique, authentic design, and reinforces the Club’s commitment to a vision of growth and success in the new season.
The home shorts are blue with a single white stripe at the back and are paired with white socks featuring the blue trim. The white away shorts feature a single blue stripe at the back and are paired with blue socks with a white trim.
Each complete kit is made up of up to 13 reclaimed plastic water bottles. This new manufacturing process reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared to manufacturing traditional polyester and saves nearly 100 million plastic water bottles from being dumped at landfill sites.
The lightweight kits are 13 percent lighter than previous versions and actively regulate the players’ body temperatures on the pitch to help keep them dry and cool at all times through use of Nike Dri-FIT technology. This technology draws sweat away from the player’s body through the material, where it can evaporate.
Temperature regulation is helped by ventilation zones, consisting of hundreds of tiny laser cut holes from the under arms to the waistband, allowing air to circulate to help keep players dry, cool and comfortable.
For the first time the club crest on the front of the shirt is heat transferred, making it even lighter and crucially allowing this area to now be ventilated as well.
The shirt has a new aerodynamic fit this season, now slimmer and more athletic, providing 17 percent more stretch than the Sundowns' shirt of two years ago. A bonded hem offers a streamlined look that reduces irritation caused by chafing.
The new kit will be available in retail stores from 14 July 2011.
The authentic replica shirt will be available at the recommended retail price of R599.95, and the authentic stadium shirt is priced at R399.95.
The geometric stripe prints are standard in both shirts with specific garment features such as double-folded single stitching and single needle double-folded sleeve cuffs being standard in the authentic replica shirt.
Nyasha Mushekwi, Elias Pelembe, Siyanda Xulu and Teko Modise during the Mamelodi Sundowns kit launch at the Nike Store at Menlyn Park in Pretoria.