Aston Villa’s stars forced to wear ‘wet-look’ kits live on TV this weekend despite concerns over the figure-hugging shirts weighing them down with sweat
- Aston Villa’s men’s and women’s teams forced to wear wet look shirts on live TV
- Players have complained about the heavy material increasing sweat levels
- Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here
Aston Villa’s men’s and women’s teams will be forced to wear their ‘wet-look’ Castore shirts live on TV this weekend, despite players’ concerns over performance and appearance, after the kit manufacturer failed to find a solution in time.
Players from both teams complained over the design of the shirts, claiming the heavy material increases their sweat levels and weighs them down in matches.
Mail Sport understands both teams were given the option to wear their white away kit, made of the same material, for their respective Premier League and Women’s Super League matches, but have chosen to wear their traditional home strip.
Carla Ward’s women’s team host Manchester United on BBC Two tomorrow at 12.30pm and players are said to be ‘dreading’ how they will look in the ‘clingy’ tops.
Unai Emery’s men, who welcome Brighton to Villa Park at 12.30pm on Saturday, first raised concerns over the shirts during their pre-season tour of the United States. Those sentiments were reiterated by Ward’s players, who are understood to have been unhappy with the shirts during pre-season too.
Aston Villa will wear the Castore kit on Sunday despite the issues with how wet the shirt gets
The sweat was particularly evident during Villa’s Europa Conference League clash last week
Villa’s women’s side are thought to have worn their training kit for a recent pre-season friendly
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Emery would not take questions on the issue in his pre-match press conference and only one question was permitted about it during Ward’s earlier in the day.
Ward said of her players: ‘They have similar concerns to the men. It was highlighted early in the pre-season on the men’s side and backed up by the women. As far as I’m concerned it’s over to the club and Castore to deal with.’
The idea of using last season’s kit was a non-starter because Villa’s front-of-shirt sponsor changed over the summer. Even if that were not a problem, it is unclear if there would be enough 2022-23 strips to go around.
Villa’s women’s team will wear kit on Sunday
Premier League rules state teams must wear their home kit for home matches and any requests to change their kit for a match must be lodged with them at least a fortnight earlier.
Mail Sport understands the club put pressure on Castore to find a solution before this weekend, with commentator Jacqui Oatley also calling on the manufacturer to secure both teams, but especially the female players, new shirts.
‘They are dreading playing in it, for obvious reasons,’ Oatley told Mail Sport earlier this week. ‘No woman I know wants to get hot and sweaty and have their sports gear cling to them in all places, live on television in particular.
‘It just shouldn’t be happening. These women need to have a different kit to play in, however they do it. I absolutely think they have to come up with a solution before Sunday.’
Newcastle United are switching manufacturers from Castore to adidas at the end of this season but in a statement said they had no concerns over the quality of their current shirts. Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris holds a six per cent stake in adidas.
Wolves men’s and women’s teams both wear Castore kits and it is understood they had the same issue, but the matter did not become public.
After discussions with Castore, the fabric was altered during the off-season and players have reported an improvement at the start of this campaign.
A spokesperson for Castore said: ‘We are working closely with Aston Villa to address this issue as quickly as possible to meet the standards we expect. We would like to thank the club for their patience and support.
‘As a proud new British brand, we always hold ourselves to the highest of standards and strive to do everything we can to constantly improve the performance of our products. This means addressing any customer concerns with promptness and humility.’
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