Nigeria 2018 World Cup Jersey

In February 2018, with the World Cup on the horizon in the coming summer, Nike released Nigeria’s home and away jerseys as well as an extensive “Naija” collection of streetwear inspired apparel. Spearheading the drop was the home kit which featured a lime green body with white-and-black sleeves and all decorated by jagged vertical stripes resembling the wings of the team’s mascot, the Super Eagles. The jersey, which looked less like a traditional soccer kit than a hyped-up sneaker, sold out within three minutes of the drop marking a distinct shift from a piece of athletic gear to rarest-provenance streetwear.

Nike’s energetic collection for the Nigeria Football Federation was imbued with the Naija spirit, a term meaning “the new Nigeria,” adopted by a young generation of Nigeria players entering the national team scene. The home kit payed subtle homage to Nigeria’s 1994 shirt (worn by Nigeria's first team to qualify for the World Cup) with its eagle wing-inspired sleeves and torso. But at heart, the kit, and collection as a whole, was driven by a desire to channel a healthy reserve of exuberance.

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Crest

A tritone version of the crest adorns the left side of the kit, with the Super Eagle perched atop a soccer ball at the center. The name of the Federation and Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, surround it.

Sleeves

The black and white sleeves are a subtle nod to the 1994 jersey that Nigeria wore in their first ever World Cup appearance.

Pattern

The abstracted feather pattern is inspired by the team mascot, the Super Eagles, and comes in a new and supercharged green.

On the

Pitch—

The Super Eagles arrived at the World Cup in Russia as underdogs. Their group included Iceland, fresh off a roaring Euro 2016 run, Argentina, footballing royalty featuring one of the all-time greats Lionel Messi, and Croatia, eventual tournament runner-ups.

Nigeria began the tournament in their muted away kits, falling 2-0 to Croatia. Six days later they returned to the field and would cruise to a 2-0 victory courtesy of two gorgeous strikes from Ahmed Musa. Their World Cup journey would come to an end against Argentina on Matchday 3 though as they fell 2-1, with Marcos Rojo's 86th minute goal breaking Nigerian hearts.

Pitch—

The Nigeria jerseys seemed to unveil what designers already knew: soccer is fashion, or at least a sport just waiting to be mined for inspiration. “With Nigeria, we wanted to tap into the attitude of the nation,” notes Dan Farron, Nike Football Design Director. “We started to see trends in attitude and energy connecting the athletes to music, fashion and more.” The exuberance of that Naija culture was resounding, spurred by family, friends and football, and with boundless potential and an undoubtedly infectious palpable charisma, the squad begged fandom from anyone.

Off the

In September of 2018 the kit was nominated for the prestigious Beazley Design of the Year Award, run in conjunction with the Design Museum in London, capping off a historic impact the jersey has had on the game of football. The Naija collection is a success story that will be one both football and fashion industries look to as a new benchmark for where on pitch apparel meets off pitch style, combining streetwear and culture with jersey design like never before.