Villa women's players 'dreading' WSL opener because of shirts

The problem was particularly obvious when Villa's men's side wore home shirts without a sponsor during their Europa League match against Legia Warsaw

Aston Villa women are "dreading" playing on Sunday because of issues with the club's shirts, according to football commentator Jacqui Oatley.

The home claret and blue shirts, made by British sportswear group Castore, are the worst affected and have noticeably changed colour in games.

"This is going to be a big problem," Oatley told BBC Newsbeat.

Aston Villa women are due to wear the kit in their Women's Super League opener against Manchester United on Sunday, which kicks-off at 12:30 BST and is live on BBC Two.

"They've got four TV games coming up. Normally they'd absolutely relish those games and look forward to them," Oatley added.

"But they're actually dreading it because they're really conscious about how they're going to look in this wet, clingy kit - for obvious reasons."

Most of Aston Villa's men's matches so far this season have seen players changing their soaked shirts at half-time.

Oatley said the women's team "absolutely hated" playing in the kit during a pre-season friendly with Chelsea.

"You can imagine, as a female athlete, you have plenty enough to think about just being the best you can be on the football field without thinking about getting sweaty and your kit clinging to you, both from a performance aspect as it is with the men but also from an aesthetic aspect," Oatley said.

"And, as we know, women are different specimens when it comes to our bodies and it can really affect us and how we perform if we're constantly thinking about how we look, or a top might be clinging to our breasts and also our body shapes.

"These are genuine issues for women which you would have thought somebody would have thought through before they released this kit.

"But it seems perhaps that wasn't the case, because they didn't think about it for the men so I'm quite sure they won't have thought about it for the women."

In May 2022, Villa announced they had signed a "landmark multi-year" deal with Castore.

The club are working with Castore to find a solution to the problem after players from the men's team claimed the shirts are weighing them down, according to The Telegraph.

BBC Sport has approached Aston Villa and Castore for comment.

The issue with the shirts was clear to see in Villa's men's match at Chelsea at the weekendThe contrast between the shirt worn by Villa defender Callum Chambers and his team-mate goalkeeper Emi Martinez was stark during the match against Legia WarsawLatest Aston Villa news, analysis and fan viewsGet Villa news notifications

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