We get a lot of product emails here at The Offside & World Cup Blog global headquarters (located just left of sanity). Some are good, some are bad, most promise to love us long time. This one is, without a doubt, unique, simply because it isn’t.
Puma has unveiled a universal third kit for African countries in 2010 in partnership with the United Nations – good partner to have – which will be worn by all African teams sponsored by, you guessed it, Puma. This is special celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB for the word-challenged), which I just know you’re all honorably observing at this very moment.
At their 'Play for Life' press conference held today in Nairobi, Kenya, PUMA unveiled their key fundraising lever, the revolutionary new Africa Unity Kit –the world's first 'continental football kit' designed to be worn by the 12 African football national teams that PUMA sponsors. These include the World Cup qualified teams Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Algeria who are headed to the Africa Cup of Nations' with hosts Angola and the national teams of Egypt, Mozambique, Togo and Tunisia, as well as non-qualified federations of Senegal, Morocco and Namibia. Puma also sponsors some of the continent's best players — Samuel Eto'o, Emmanuel Eboué and John Mensah.
The Africa Unity Kit has been approved by FIFA who have officially recognised it as the Official 3rd kit* to be worn by those PUMA-sponsored African teams.
PUMA's profits from sales of the replica fanwear for the Unity Kits will help fund biodiversity programs in Africa, and in particular endangered species on the continent such as lions, elephants, gorillas and the desert fox.
The remainder of the particulars can be found here.
In the blossoming age of social consciousness, expect Puma not to be the last to create entire kits with issues in mind. Adidas could fight the good fight against world hunger with a kit designed to look like a hamburger – or just sponsor Getafe; Nike could take up breast cancer with an all-pink kit; and then maybe some visionary such as Kappa could design a kit that looks like the British pound to aid the charity known as Portsmouth’s wage bill.
As for the kit itself, it’s flipping brilliant: shirts will always look clean and fresh because they start dirty. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this?
* – This post was unsolicited, but rewards in the form of delicious Jujubes are welcome.
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