If you've been watching some of the Euro matches, you may have noticed that the Adidas national team kits for Euro 2024 perform poorly in hot weather.
Authentic Adidas 2024 National Team Kits Have Bad Performing Fabric
Some of Adidas' Euro 2024 kits, particularly Belgium's, darken dramatically as if they were drenched in water, causing visible discomfort and aesthetic issues on the pitch.
One issue for the bad performing Adidas authentic kits apparently lies with the jacquard designs incorporated into the shirts, which seem to exacerbate the problem.
Exclusive: Adidas to Launch All-New Airflow Football Kit Technology in 2024
Another issue is the fabric of the shirts itself - the side panels have a different material, which offers fantastic breathability (called Airflow).
What is particularly interesting is that Adidas apparently became aware of the problem before the national team kits were officially launched. The brand has changed the material of its shirts, but only for the 24-25 kits, which were produced starting in March 2024 (before or at the same time the national team kits were debuted).
Adidas is set to address it with a new fabric for the 2024-25 season. The new club team elite kits for 2024-25 feature this updated fabric while maintaining the same template and cut as the national team kits.
Real Madrid's Houndstooth pattern is not added as a jacquard print but directly integrated within the fabric. This will certainly allow for great breathability while maintaining a high-quality look.
Adidas Top Teams Use Different Fabric Than National Teams
Still, it is bad that Adidas did not provide teams with a better-performing fabric for Euro 2024, at least as a player-exclusive version.
Comparative Analysis of Kit Brands
Puma: Adidas' issues are standing out in Euro 2024, but Puma's Ultrweave fabric does not fare much better. Puma kits tend to become almost transparent when saturated with sweat, posing a different but equally problematic issue.
Nike: In contrast, Nike's Vaporknit technology stands out as superior. Nike kits, even under heat, retain their original appearance and do not suffer from the darkening or transparency issues observed in Adidas and Puma kits.
Are you surprised that Adidas' kits perform as badly in the heat of not even extremely hot Germany? Let us know in the comments below.