THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

FC Barcelona and Nike unveil new Home Kit for 2016-17 season

FC Barcelona’s new Nike Vapor home kit with AeroSwift technology pairs top Nike innovation with design details that honor the 25th anniversary of the club’s triumphant 1991-92 European campaign. As the team’s captain Andres Iniesta explains, “At FC Barcelona, we believe in attacking and fast football. This new kit feels light and comfortable — it’s an expression of both our heritage and our future.”

On the shirt, the club’s classic broad vertical stripes alternate FC Barcelona’s traditional red and blue with lighter shades of the same hues. Thinner tonal stripes, which also nod the club’s style during its seminal championship run, taper near the hem. The sleeves and shoulders feature contrasting agility rib fabric that reveals midnight navy and hyper cobalt stripes.

Odes to club pride appear on both the interior and exterior of the shirt. “Barca” is knit into the back collar alongside a small woven Catalan flag, the Senyera, which FC Barcelona fans recreated with large yellow and red cards in the stands on the night of the club’s 1992 European victory. “Un Crit’” and “Valen,” which together mean “Our Cry is Bold” in Catalan, adorn the inside right and left cuffs, respectively. The phrase draws from the club’s official fan anthem “Cant del Barca,” customarily sung prior to kick-off, while the shirt’s font takes inspiration from the curves of the city’s iconic architecture.

The sides of the kit feature a red stripe detail that runs the length of the shirt and classic FC Barcelona blue shorts. The stripe expands when the player is in motion providing greater ventilation and revealing bold flashes of blue underneath.

The new home socks are blue with a distinctive red linear graphic on the calf. The kit also features an alternate pair of red socks with a blue linear graphic.

FC Barcelona Training Apparel
This season FC Barcelona will wear a new range of training apparel with Aeroswift technology to allow their players to train with the same speed and flair they play with on match days.

For the first time ever, players will train in apparel enhanced with the exact same fabric, construction, performance benefits and technology as the iconic FC Barcelona kit they wear during games.

The range consists of Strike tops, shorts, and pants featuring Nike’s signature innovations for the ultimate in fit, comfort and agility. The apparel eliminates distractions, keeping players comfortable and dry in sweltering heat and warm in sub-zero temperatures.

Nike AeroSwift Technology
These are Nike’s most technologically advanced kits, featuring Nike AeroSwift technology. They use a new, textured high-performance yarn that wicks sweat from the skin. The shirt and shorts are also constructed using a new knitting process that integrates single and double knit to enhance breathability, stretch and fit.

Commitment to Sustainability
Nike leverages sustainable innovation for its football kits through the use of recycled polyester, delivering unrivalled performance and lower environmental impact.

The kit’s shirt and shorts are constructed with recycled polyester fabric, which is made from recycled plastic bottles melted down to produce a fine yarn.

Each kit is made using approximately 16 recycled plastic bottles. Since 2010, more than three billion plastic bottles have been diverted from landfills and converted into recycled polyester, enough to cover about 5,200 football pitches.

The FC Barcelona home kit will be available at Nike.com/fcb and official FC Barcelona retailers.

(Nike Press Release)