adidas unveils new Orlando Pirates jersey

adidas, the leading sports brand, has given Orlando Pirates football club a new look home and away kit for the 2011/2012 season – which kicks off with the Vodacom Challenge Cup next weekend.

Following the popularity and success of last season’s jersey, adidas has stuck to the same clean and classic look with attention to smaller design details on the jersey.

“We worked very hard with the club to ensure that we produce a world class product for a world class club. This season we decided to use the same design for both the home and away jerseys,” says Kevin Jooste, the Football Category Manager at adidas South Africa.

adidas and Orlando Pirates always like to do something bold and unexpected and this season they have produced a red away jersey which is also set to be a hit with the fans.

“The feedback we received from last season’s jersey was very positive and so we decided to remain with a clean and classic design. Orlando Pirates has a great tradition of pushing the envelope in jersey design and I believe we have done that yet again this year. We are excited by this design and we hope the Orlando Pirates faithful will embrace the new jersey and wear it with pride,” says Nkosana Khoza, the Marketing Director at Orlando Pirates Football Club.

According to Jooste, there are three key features that make the new Orlando Pirates jersey unique. ”There is the collar detail using hidden buttons and the Orlando Pirates wording print on the back. More importantly, the base layer material used is lighter than the fabric used on previous jerseys and the jersey design is completed with contrast three-stripe stitching as well as skull and crossbones embossing on the back - which brings out the finer detail,” says Jooste.

Both jerseys feature Climacool Technology- a combination of performance fabrics, open mesh and ventilation channels which keep cool air flowing in and heat and sweat flowing out. Climacool works by considering how and where the body produces heat and sweat, focussing on specific fabric and garment features in those zones. The effect is that athletes stay dry, comfortable and perform at their peak in even the most heated competitions.

In addition to the replica jerseys, adidas has produced its most comprehensive fan ware range. The replica jersey –which is locally produced -will retail at a recommended retail price of R 599 and will be available in retail shops from today (07 July 2011).

“We are bringing a selection of Orlando Pirates players to the fans. They will visit four retail stores today (07 July) from 1pm until 5pm,” says Bradley Stern, Senior Trade Marketing Manager at adidas South Africa. The treble winning squad will visit these four stores within Johannesburg; adidas concept store Eastgate, Studio88 Riggs Street, Totalsports Carlton Centre and Rashid Cassim Sports in Fordsburg.