Nike and Adidas chase breathable comfort for World Cup

Nike World – Nike and Adidas are building World Cup kits around heat, moisture and national symbolism—testing fabrics in high-tech labs and rolling out designs even as early match-day quirks drew attention.

Heat was the first adversary Nike had to beat.

On a recent morning. Phil McCartney. Nike’s chief innovation. design and product officer. spoke from the sports research lab at Nike’s headquarters just outside Portland. Oregon. Inside. the company runs its World Cup uniform ideas through equipment designed to mimic what players actually feel in matches—especially when conditions are punishing. The tournament has included storm delays and temperatures hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in some locations.

The lab itself is built for motion and atmosphere: it includes a 200-meter (219-yard) track. a small football pitch and a basketball court. with hundreds of motion-capture cameras set throughout. Thermal chambers replicate the effects of heat and humidity on apparel worn by people or by robot mannequins.

“We take motion-capture to see how they’re moving in the kit, how the kits are responding,” McCartney said. “We also use the thermal chambers that we have to test the kit’s breathability, to test wicking and moisture management.”

The goal is simple, even if the process isn’t: make uniforms comfortable enough to help performance hold steady when the body is already fighting the weather.

For this year’s World Cup. Nike designed uniform kits including for France and Brazil in their role as football powerhouses. and for the U.S. and Canada as host nations. McCartney said Nike worked with athletes, coaches and football federations to understand how uniforms affect the game. The company also consults fans.

“We also talk to fans — so what does it mean to wear a Uruguay jersey. what does it mean to represent France. what does it mean to play for Canada?” McCartney told The Associated Press. “We take that and we merge that with all the science and the innovation to make sure that we have beautiful designs.”.

To address the heat directly, Nike engineered a new fabric it says is more breathable and made from fully recycled materials. Nike said the way the jerseys are knit includes mesh stitching in certain areas to allow more air flow, supporting “thermal regulation” players have been asking for.

Adidas, which designed jerseys for defending champion Argentina, host nation Mexico and Colombia, also unveiled cooling gear for the tournament. Puma designed the kits for Portugal as well as Morocco and Senegal, the two finalists at the most recent African Cup of Nations.

Not every uniform in the tournament came from the big three. While Nike, Adidas and Puma are behind most of this year’s kits, some teams are sporting uniforms designed by other apparel makers.

The science doesn’t always guarantee a perfect first outing.

Even with extensive testing. the rollout of Nike’s World Cup kit was “a bit bumpy.” During matches earlier this year. bulges could be seen in the shoulder seams on jerseys for teams including France and Uruguay. the Guardian reported. When asked by AP. Nike said it was able to identify the issue before the start of the World Cup and worked with federations “to ensure kits show up as intended.”.

That mix—high-tech testing and high-stakes timing—runs alongside another design challenge: making jerseys feel like more than performance gear.

McCartney said the appearance of a kit matters for fans who want to feel connected to their team. Nike’s creative process, he said, pulls inspiration from “lots of different places, from the past, from art, from music, from culture,” to harness what connects players and supporters to a country.

France’s away kit is a light green akin to the Statue of Liberty. a gift France made to the U.S. in the late 19th century. The interior tag features the word “Liberté” inside a silhouette of the monument’s crown. On the front of the jersey there’s a rooster—an emblem of the national team and the country itself—and two stars representing France’s two previous World Cup victories.

France’s home kit features a collar, as does Uruguay’s. Nike said the decision to use collars comes from the federations: France leaned into its history as a fashion capital. while Uruguay aimed for a more classic football look. Nike also pointed out that in previous decades, many uniforms included collars.

National symbols were built into kits for the U.S. and Canada as well. The home kit for the U.S. features horizontal red and white stripes reminiscent of a waving American flag, while Canada’s displays a prominent maple leaf.

“Especially in an event like the World Cup, we really play into national pride,” McCartney said.

Nike World Cup uniforms Adidas cooling gear Phil McCartney thermal chambers motion-capture breathable fabric recycled materials France kit Liberté Uruguay collar U.S. flag stripes Canada maple leaf