Aston Villa footballers are irked with their new kit. Earlier members of the club’s men’s team raised concerns over the wet-look shirts, which are supplied by one of England’s top sportswear brands, Castore. Aston Villa footballers looked to be drenched during the Europa Conference League match against Legia Warszawa on September 21. They have been facing this issue with the new kit since the beginning of the season. Players of Aston Villa’s women’s team have now echoed the men’s team’s complaints, according to a report by the Telegraph.
Aston Villa women are set to begin their campaign in the Women’s Super League with a clash against Manchester United on October 1. Ahead of the big match, the players are said to be “deeply concerned” about wearing the new season’s kit. According to them, the shirts are getting heavy after soaking in sweat and it may affect on-field performance. The issue has caught the attention of the Manager of the team, Carla Ward. Due to the problem, Aston Villa ditched the home kit in one of their pre-season games and donned the training kit.
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Carla Ward as well as men’s team boss Unai Emery have already presented the issue in front of the Aston Villa officials. The club hierarchy has asked kit maker Castore to resolve the issue as soon as possible. According to a report by the Mirror, Aston Villa will not accept a “no” from the sportswear brand as their jerseys are hindering both men’s and women’s teams’ performance.
Aston Villa have just entered their second season of partnership with Castore after agreeing to a multi-year contract in 2022. Apart from them, some other big clubs in Europe including Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United also have deals with Castore. The Manchester-based brand also supplies the kit of the England cricket team.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are on the course of ending their ties with Castore, whose tagline says, “Demand better – premium performance.” Newcastle may join hands with Adidas next season.
Aston Villa men’s team looks to be in good form this season. Among their six Premier League fixtures, the Villans have emerged victorious on four occasions. They upset Chelsea for a 1-0 victory in a league game last Sunday before losing 2-1 to Everton in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Aston Villa also failed to secure a full three points in their Europa Conference League opener, suffering a close 3-2 defeat against Legia Warszawa.