World Cup kits: Africa’s kit parade

Morocco’s home top is a brilliantly nostalgic design, a nod back to the 1998 team that teased reaching the knockout stages in France, with Mustapha Hadji in particularly imperious form.
The horizontal band across the chest has been taken directly from that design, with the colours inverted so that Morocco’s home kit is red with a green band, rather than red with a green band as it was 20 years ago.
Dove’s Rating: 8.5/10
Unlike Senegal and Ghana—more on them later—Morocco haven’t been sidled with Puma’s unpopular ‘box’ template for their away kit.
Well actually, they have, although the manufacturers opted to ‘box’ the player’s number inside a subtle geometrical pattern, rather than a fussy frame.
It’s a much more effective arrangement, and the green and red trip on collar and sleeves also sets off this effective design.
Dove’s Rating: 7/10
We’re big fans of the strong chevrons on the chest of Senegal’s home kits, although our favourite design touch is the return of the red to the first choice design.
It’s a throwback to the iconic kits worn by the Teranga Lions during their run to the quarter-finals in 2002, and was sadly missing from the designs they wore in Russia four and a half years ago.
There’s classic potential to this new Senegal design, even if we won’t get to see star man Sadio Mane wearing it until the knockout stages…at best.
Dove’s Rating: 7.5/10
The first of several of the new Puma ‘box’ away kit templates worn by African teams at the World Cup, the new efforts are a far cry from some of Puma’s more creative and unique African designs of the past.
The template—particularly for Senegal and Ghana—looks both too plain and too busy, with the design elements all bunched up in the middle of the strip.
Surely this one would be better used as a training or warm-up top rather than as actual in-game wear.
Dove’s Rating: 3/10
One of the best designs of the whole tournament, Ghana have had some terrific World Cup kits in the past, and this one has to rank pretty highly in the wardrobes of Black Stars supporters.
It’s a simple but effective design, with the plain white shirts being set off by the pan-African trim on the sleeves.
Ghana often pair a strong visual black star with the national team crest, and this year is no different, setting off a truly excellent kit.
Dove’s Rating: 8.5/10
As with the Senegal away kit, Ghana have been lumbered with the infamous ‘box’ away kit template for Puma.
It’s hard to see why this has been chosen as the latest innovation by the German manufacturers, and it’s certainly a major departure from the unique feel and visual effect of their previous yellow and black away strip.
Perhaps the Ghanaian away colour scheme is slightly more effective than Senegal’s, but this is still a clunky return from Puma.
Dove’s Rating: 4/10
Italian manufacturers Kappa often produce classy and stylish kits, and their offering for Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup certainly meets their standards.
The North Africans haven’t been particularly innovative with their national team kits in the past, and this year is no different, with a subtle print on the kit’s fabric the key design element.
Inspired by Carthaginian armour, the visual effect isn’t particularly prevalent on the red home shirt, but appears a bit more striking in the white away kit and, notably, the dark green third-choice design.
There’s not too much to complain about here, although don’t expect these designs to be remembered too long after the tournament ends.
Dove’s Rating: 6/10
Samuel Eto’o controversially opted to tear up the Cameroon Federation’s contract with previous suppliers Le Coq Sportif, instead appointed little-known One Sports to provide the country’s kits for the World Cup.
The newly chosen manufacturers have zero track record of working in the soccer space, and it’s not yet entirely clear why they were selected by Eto’o, particularly in a move that may prove costly, with Le Coq Sportif vowing to take FECAFOOT to court over the rupture of contract.
Cameroon were the last nation to reveal their kits, and their home design—with a green chest-plate motif upon a green background—certainly wasn’t worth the wait.
Dove’s Rating: 2.5/10
The One Sports away designs are little better than their home equivalent, as while the chest-and-shoulder design is more visible on the white and yellow backgrounds, that’s not necessarily a good thing.
The kits have the potential to be more striking than the home offering, but they still look a little tacky and hardly vindicate Eto’o’s decision
Dove’s Rating: 3/10
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