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Orlando Pirates have pitched up in different colours on match days over the past few seasons, particularly for their fixtures away from home.
However, this won’t be the case in the coming season, as Bucs and their technical sponsor, Adidas, have opted to return to the traditional white and black shirts ahead of the club’s 85th anniversary.
To mark this milestone, Pirates have reverted to white as their changing shirt for matches away from home, while the club will turn out in black for their home matches.
Adidas SA sports marketing manager Bob Maphosa told City Press on the sidelines of the launch of the new jersey in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Thursday:
“We work with the club to try and bring out the celebratory nature of the season that’s coming. Obviously, it is a momentous occasion for the club – 85 years of existence.
“We looked back at the colourway to stay true to the Orlando Pirates fans by bringing back the white jersey in the away [games]. We needed something that is vibrant, that also allows us the celebratory set-up.
“The silver trims of the jersey really brings that exciting nature for the young Orlando Pirates fans and the older generation. The red trims just add that ‘next’ kind of set-up in that it must look good on you and it must still perform on the technology side...”
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Maphosa added that the jersey was made out of 100% recycled material, which is sourced via the sport apparel manufacturer’s ocean clean-up campaign.
“It needs to be a garment that you can pick up out of the wardrobe and just put on for any kind of occasion, and that’s what we are trying to achieve. And with the young generation coming in, we listen to them also.”
THE PRICE TAG
“The price is a sensitive matter,” Maphosa said. “But again, price talks to your production costs; talks to the technology that you include into garment … But we still want the Pirates fan to get the best value for their money. As much as I am saying we are using plastic waste to do the jersey, the actual transformation of this plastic into this garment is all the cost factor. If you look at where the jersey is and how much it has been updated from to where we are, you will understand that it’s not really high cost in terms of production cost and getting to the end users. It will also give you value for money.”
Maphosa said the jersey was readily available on the Adidas and Orlando Pirates apps, as well as from Adidas stores from Friday.
Other retail stores will have them in stock from August 4, just two days ahead of Pirates’ opening DStv Premiership match against Swallows at Orlando Stadium.
