The German national football team is currently unable to wear pink uniforms.
The pink-colored away jersey of the German national football team has sparked controversy amongst right-wing circles, but it has since become highly sought-after. The team won't be able to use it until at least three matches in the home European Championship.
Germany's national football team is set to play all three group stage matches of the upcoming home European Championship in their white home jerseys. Reportedly, UEFA has forbidden the use of the pink away jersey due to color combinations with the opponents. The team will face Scotland first on Friday (9 PM/ZDF, Magenta, and in the live ticker at ntv.de), following encounters against Hungary (Wednesday, June 19, 9 PM) and Switzerland (June 23, 9 PM), the latter of which has home-field advantage.
Following its unveiling, the pink kit was met with criticism: it's unmanly, they said. However, the German Football Association (DFB) and Adidas had planned a marketing campaign featuring it – even taking matters into their own hands. In a video, people questioned whether the kit was for women, to which national player Jule Brand replied in her pink away kit: "I don't know, it doesn't look like eight European Championship titles to me yet." The women's team currently has three more titles than the men's team.
Beyond the marketing campaign, the pink away kit has also gained popularity. It has become a common sight in international matches and public training sessions. Last week, it was even temporarily sold out. Adidas stated that the shirt had set a new record for the highest sales start of a German away kit. The home kit is also popular, they said. No specific numbers were provided. This is Adidas' last European Championship as a supplier to the DFB team.
Not surprisingly, the team's performance has not been impacted by whether they wear the pink kit or not. The team led by national coach Julian Nagelsmann has gone undefeated in their last four international matches. Interestingly, the pink jersey has performed slightly better: Toni Kroos and his team won both matches while wearing the pink kit – a 2:1 victory against Greece and the Netherlands. In white, they had a 2:0 win against France and a 0:0 draw against Ukraine.
Days before the start of the home European Championship, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck spoke highly of the German team. In an interview with Kicker, he described Nagelsmann's team as "a beacon for the republic we admire." "They play for Germany, and that's the friendly Germany in pink shirts. What more could we want?" Habeck said, praising the team's stance.
Regrettably, this wasn't the only concern raised by Habeck before the championship. In a separate interview about a recent WDR survey, he expressed worry about the racism unveiled by the survey results. He mentioned that it's "a sad statement to make when someone gives their all for their country and is still told they don't belong because of their skin color. That's called racism, and many people experience it every day." The survey results surprised him, with one in five respondents preferring more white players on the German national team. This heated up the ongoing debate.
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The German Football Association (DFB) and sports apparel company Adidas planned to use the pink away jersey of the national soccer team in their marketing campaign, despite the controversy surrounding it. Robert Habeck, the Federal Economics Minister, praised the team for representing a "friendly Germany" in pink shirts.
