Aston Villa face calls to change kit as women’s side prepare to start new season

Callum Boyle

Aston Villa have approached Castore.

Aston Villa are facing calls to change the design of their kit ahead of the start of the Women’s Super League season.

Villa’s men’s team have already complained to the Premier League club about the ‘wet-look’ and are insisting that the quality of the kit is affecting their performances as it retains sweat, making it heavier and more uncomfortable for players.

As per The Mirror, the club have approached kit manufacturers Castore and now further pressure has been placed on the side as pundits worry how the shirts will affect the women’s team.

Aston Villa Kit

Aston Villa face calls to change kit as women’s side prepare to start new season.

Commentator Jacqui Oatley was one of those to voice her concerns, saying: “Has anyone considered how the Villa women’s players are going to feel playing in these clingy wet-look shirts?

“They’re live on BBC on Sunday in the WSL vs. Manchester United for starters. Surely they can’t use kit in this material. Can Castore sort it in time?”

There’s been no indication if the problem has been fixed in time for Villa’s Third Round EFL cup tie against Everton tonight.

Oatley added that rather than being excited about the start of the WSL campaign, Villa’s women’s team will be “dreading it”.

Has anyone considered how the @AVWFCOfficial women’s players are going to feel playing in these clingy wet-look shirts? They’re live on BBC on Sunday in the @BarclaysWSL v Man Utd for starters. Surely they can’t use kit in this material. Can @CastoreEngland sort it in time? #avfc https://t.co/Pg5v31ei9s pic.twitter.com/sIH1fzWwoz

— Jacqui Oatley (@JacquiOatley) September 26, 2023

“You can imagine, as a female athlete, you have plenty enough to think about just being the best you can be on the football field without thinking about getting sweaty and your kit clinging to you, both from a performance aspect as it is with the men but also from an aesthetic aspect,” she told BBC Newsbeat.

“And, as we know, women are different specimens when it comes to our bodies and it can really affect us and how we perform if we’re constantly thinking about how we look, or a top might be clinging to our breasts and also our body shapes.

“These are genuine issues for women which you would have thought somebody would have thought through before they released this kit. But it seems perhaps that wasn’t the case, because they didn’t think about it for the men so I’m quite sure they won’t have thought about it for the women.”

Castore were founded in 2015. They create kits for some of the biggest sides in the world as well as other sports such as the England cricket teams and Formula One champions, Red Bull.

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