Nike and Kaizer Chiefs launch 2011/12 club kit

NIKE AND KAIZER CHIEFS LAUNCH NEW CLUB KIT FOR 2011-2012 SEASON.

DRAMATIC NEW DESIGN HONOURS HISTORY AND CLUB VISION IN MOST LIGHTWEIGHT KIT EVER.

At the launch of the new Club kit at Nike’s Football Training Centre in Soweto on Tuesday, Nike and Kaizer Chiefs unveiled its bold new home kit, inspired by the traditional black and gold Club colours, infused with its distinctive chief’s logo iconic in Club history.

The body of the jersey now features a modern aesthetic while remaining faithful to the Club’s most distinctive patterns and Club history as the black and gold diagonal stripes across the front of the jersey emulate the chief’s headgear.

The refined collar and sleeves in full black boasts a classic cut. On the back of the jersey below the neck reads ‘Kaizer Chiefs’, with the headgear icon imprinted on the inside back collar. The front of the jersey features the traditional Kaizer Chiefs logo and Nike swoosh in lightweight heat transfer materials, with the new Vodacom logo emblazoned below the chest.

The home shorts are classic black with a gold strip at the bottom back, and the gold socks carry a solid black line across the sock, with the Kaizer Chiefs and Nike logo at the back.

With the dramatic design encapsulating the rich history of the Club, the new kit also embodies revolutionary technological innovations such as laser cut ventilation zones that help with localized cooling. A full mesh microfibre back increases evaporative cooling in the highest sweat zone.

Kaizer Chiefs have long been a team at the forefront of South African football, and this new design coupled with the innovative technologies demonstrates Nike and Kaizer Chiefs’ vision to inspire their players to perform at their best.

While the history and the tradition of the Club is present in the jersey design, the new kits are made from Nike’s ground-breaking recycled polyester – which for the time includes both the shirt and shorts.

Each complete kit is made up of up to 13 reclaimed plastic water bottles. This new manufacturing process reduces energy consumption by up to 30% compared to manufacturing traditional polyester and saves nearly 100 million plastic water bottles from being dumped at landfill sites.

The new kit is made up of 100% polyester, and Nike’s famous Dri-FIT material, which is designed exclusively to improve the athlete’s performance by absorbing moisture away from the body. By taking sweat away from the skin, the players stay cooler and lighter, thereby allowing them to perform at optimum level.

The Kaizer Chiefs away kit, which now also features the bold diagonal stripes in gold across the sleeves on an all-white jersey, is paired with white shorts, and white socks with a gold trim, and the full away kits include the same lightweight technological innovations as the home kit.

To complement the new match day kits Nike has launched a unique Kaizer Chiefs line of lifestyle clothing for both players and fans to wear on and off pitch. Featuring the symbols and heritage that unite the Club and fans the new lifestyle wear includes polo shirts and N98 jackets emboldened with the Kaizer Chiefs badge.

The kit and extended line is available from leading retailers from 7 July.