Eagles Set to Impress in Russia with New Kit, Fresh Attitude

Demola Ojo

A few days ago, Nigeria’s Russia 2018 World Cup kit was unveiled in London to mixed reactions, mostly positive. The home jersey is a daring throwback to the mid-nineties, with lemon green and black making rare appearances. Love it or hate, you can’t ignore the fact it’s a bold statement.

The kit is representative of the new wave of optimism surrounding the Super Eagles as the World Cup approaches. The positive vibes result from the ease with which the Eagles breezed through a qualifying group that looked daunting initially. The Eagles swathed aside the challenge of highly rated Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia, qualifying with a game to spare.

The current form shouldn’t be taken for granted, coming off the back of the senior national team failing to qualify for two editions of the African Nations Cup since winning in 2013.

The Nigeria Football Federation led by Amaju Pinnick must be commended for getting the choice of team manager right. Gernot Rohr has managed to put together a team that isn’t only competitive, but also vibrant and entertaining.

For the first ever, the NFF has detailed an early plan for friendly matches and camp sites. A glamour game against England at Wembley on June 2 is the pick of the bunch, with the Eagles to also play Poland (March 23), Serbia (March 27), DR Congo (May 28), Czech Republic (June 6) and possibly, a yet-to-be-announced South American side before the team’s opening World Cup match against Croatia in Kaliningrad on June 16.

Argentina and Iceland are the other teams Nigeria will play at the World Cup in a group already touted as the “Group of Death”. The Super Eagles will head into the World Cup with no fear though, after recently dazing a strong Argentine team 4-2 in a friendly.

According to Nike, Nigeria’s new kit draws inspiration from this optimistic spirit of Naija.

“The word Naija has many uses. As a descriptor, it defines a certain future-focused optimism — one that has catalyzed a new generation of Nigerians to celebrate the nation’s vibrant culture. Use of the word requires attitude, even panache.

“It isn’t simply a stand-in for Nigeria; instead, Naija reflects a youthful exuberance, pride and fresh perspective on patriotism. To some, Naija translates directly to ‘the new Nigeria.’ With boundless potential and an undoubtedly infectious palpable charisma, the squad begs fandom from anyone — interest in football notwithstanding,” Nike explained in a piece titled, ‘For Naija’.

At heart it says, the looks are driven by a desire to channel a healthy reserve of exuberance.

“With Nigeria, we wanted to tap into the attitude of the nation,” according to Dan Farron, Nike Football Design Director. Along with other members of the Nike Football design group, Farron dug into learning more about Nigeria’s players. “We started to see trends in attitude and energy connecting the athletes to music, fashion and more. They are part of a resoundingly cool culture.”

The fashion forward nature of the Nigerian collection doesn’t end with the home kit. The wing-inspired pattern on it extends to Nigeria’s anthem jacket along with pre-match and training apparel. The latter features taping along the shoulders emblazoned with Super Eagles, while the jacket sleeve reads “Naija.”

As a natural contrast to the home kit, the away kit introduces a cool, refined vision of a classic Nigeria full-green strip.

“Overall, the two uniforms form the perfect yin/yang of kits. We counterbalanced the energy of the home with a super-dark deep green away look.”

Naija zeal extends further in the off-pitch portion of the collection. Most notably, there’s the travel suit — a tonal green floral affair with significant swagger. Accessories, including bucket hats, add personality, and each piece is designed to be mixed and matched to preference.

By the time Nigeria’s opening World Cup game against Croatia comes around, the Nigerian team would have earned new fans not just because of its exploits on the field, but because of the just unveiled collection.

With the kits of more than half of the 32 World Cup teams unveiled to the public, the Nigerian home jersey was ranked the best by the UK Mirror.

According to the newspaper, the glorious effort from Nigeria is a deserving No. 1. “It’s incredible, frankly, and is bound to turn us all into Super Eagles in the summer,” the newspaper predicts.

A young and daring team that plays with swagger in a refreshing new look means it will be fashionable to be a Super Eagles fan once again.