Photograph of a man
Segundo Castillo Varela, Peru's centre-midfielder from 1936 to 1939, wearing the fourth and current iteration of his national team's kit in 1937.[A]

The Peru national football team kit is the official sportswear used by the association football team organised by the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) to represent Peru in international football friendlies and competitions.

Due to its long history and wide popular appeal, Peru's football kit has become an unofficial national symbol. The Peru national football team plays in red and white, the country's national colours.[1]

Since 1936, Peru's first-choice kit has been white shirts, white shorts and white socks with a distinctive red "sash" crossing the shirt diagonally from the proper left shoulder to the right hip. This basic scheme has been only slightly altered over the years.[2]

History

Historical records from the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) indicate that, in the early 20th century, when Peruvians and Englishmen played football matches in Callao (Peru's chief seaport), the locals wore red shirts to distinguish themselves from the foreigners.[3] During leisure, British civilian workers and sailors played the sport among themselves and with locals in Callao and other commercial zones throughout South America.[4][B] In 1924, the FPF also equipped with red sweaters and white shorts the team representing it in a match against the team representing the Uruguayan Football Association—although neither side claimed the teams as their official national squads, sports historian Jaime Pulgar-Vidal Otálora argues that the local spectators understood the Peruvian side, composed of players from Callao and Lima (Peru's capital), to represent their national football team.[6][C] The FPF intended to present this squad as Peru's official national team at the 1924 South American Championship, which was held in Montevideo to celebrate the Uruguayan national football team's victory at the 1924 Summer Olympics, but internal disputes and economic troubles impeded the Peruvians from traveling to Uruguay for the tournament.[6]

Photograph of men carrying a banner
Peru wore its first official national football team kit in the 1927 South American Championship

The Peru national football team wore its first official kit at its formal debut in the 1927 South American Championship held in Lima.[3] Peru's kit comprised a white-and-red striped jersey (a thick vertical stripe running down the middle front and back, with two equally-thick vertical stripe on the sides), white shorts, and black socks.[7] Financial difficulties almost impeded Peru from organizing the tournament, but the Peruvian government of Augusto B. Leguía intervened to guarantee the tournament's financial sustainability.[8] Leguía's government promoted the development of football as the country's national pastime,[9] and Peruvian society at the time considered that the president sponsored the local football club Alianza Lima.[10] Peruvian sports historians debate Leguía's personal involvement with football, and with Alianza Lima in particular, but Pulgar-Vidal Otálora points out that it might not be mere coincidence that Peru's first official national football kit nearly identically resembled that of Alianza—its blue-colored stripes and shorts marked the only difference with the national kit.[7] Peru used this kit for six official matches, three at Lima's tournament and three at the 1929 South American Championship held in Buenos Aires.[7][11]

Peru were compelled to use an alternative design in the 1930 World Cup because Paraguay had already registered a kit with white-and-red striped shirts. The Peruvians instead wore white shirts with a red collar, white shorts and black socks.[8]

For the 1935 South American Championship, a horizontal red stripe was added to the shirt.[2]

The following year, at the Berlin Olympics, the team adopted the red sash design it has retained ever since.[2] According to Pulgar-Vidal Otálora, the idea for the diagonal red stripe came from school matches.[12] More specific alterations

Peru National Football Team Kit Evolution
1924
1927-1929
1930
1935
Since 1936

Sponsorship

Photograph of a man with mustache
Peruvian President Augusto B. Leguía was possibly the first sponsor of Peru's national football team

The Peru national football team has had eight official kit suppliers The first of these, Adidas, began supplying the team's kit in 1978. Peru have since had contracts with Penalty (1981–82), Adidas (1983–85), Calvo Sportwear (1987), Power (1989–91), Diadora (1991–92), local manufacturer Polmer (1993–95), Umbro (1996–97), and Peruvian company Walon Sport (1998–2010).[2] Umbro have produced the team's kit since 2010.[13] Marathon supplied kits since 1 August 2018.[14]

Suppliers

Kit supplier Period Notes
Germany Adidas 1978–1981
Brazil Penalty 1981–1982
Germany Adidas 1983–1985
Peru Calvo 1986–1987
Germany Puma 1987–1989
Switzerland Power 1989–1991
Italy Diadora 1991–1993
Peru Polmer 1993–1995
United Kingdom Umbro 1996–1997
Peru Walon 1998–2010
United Kingdom Umbro 2010–2018
Ecuador Marathon 2018–2022
Germany Adidas 2023–present

Design

The Peruvian football federation crest

Peru wears as its badge the emblem of the Peruvian Football Federation. The first badge, presented in 1927, had a heater shield design with the country's name and the federation's acronym (FPF). Eight different emblems followed, with the longest-lasting design being the modern French escutcheon form emblazoned in the team's jersey from 1953 until 2014. This design had the Peruvian flag at its base, and either the country's name or the federation's acronym at its top. Since 2014, the badge has a retro-inspired heater shield design, with the entire field comprised by Peru's flag and the federation's acronym, surrounded by a gold-colored frame.[15]

First kits

1978
(1978 World Cup)
1982
(1982 World Cup)
2007–2009
(2010 World Cup Qualifiers)
2010
(Friendly matches)
2011
(Copa América, 2014 World Cup Qualifiers)
2012
(2014 World Cup Qualifiers)
2012–2013
(2014 World Cup Qualifiers)
2014–2015
(2015 Copa América)
2015–2017
(2018 World Cup Qualifiers)
2016
(Copa América Centenario)
2018
(2018 World Cup)
2018–2019
2019
(2019 Copa América)
(2022 World Cup Qualifiers)
(2022 World Cup Qualifiers)

2020-2022[edit]

(2022 World Cup

Qualifiers)

2021

(2021 Copa America)

Second kits

1978
(1978 World Cup)
1982
(1982 World Cup)
2007–2009
2010
2011
2012–2013
2014–2015
2015–2017
(Copa América Centenario, 2018 WC Qualifiers)
2018
(2018 World Cup)
2018–2019
2019
(2019 Copa América)

Popularity

Photograph of two men
Argentine and Peruvian footballers in 1942.

Peru's kit has won praise as one of world football's most attractive designs. Christopher Turpin, the executive producer of NPR's All Things Considered news show, lauded the 1970 iteration as "the beautiful game's most beautiful shirt", also describing it as "retro even in 1970".[16] Miles Kohrman, football reporter for The New Republic, commended Peru's kit as "one of soccer's best-kept secrets".[17] Rory Smith, Chief Soccer Correspondent for The New York Times, referred to Peru's 2018 version of the jersey as "a classic" with a nostalgic, fan-pleasing "blood-red sash".[18] The version worn in 1978 came first in a 2010 ESPN list of the "Best World Cup jerseys of all time", described therein as "simple yet strikingly effective".[19]

The Peruvian kit allegedly impressed Malcolm Allison so much that he later introduced kits sporting sashes at Manchester City and Crystal Palace.[20]

During the 2021 Peruvian presidential election, the Popular Force political party candidate Keiko Fujimori wore Peru's national football team jersey during rallies and debates. Some Peru national football team players also took to Twitter to promote the anti-communist message "Wear the Jersey Peru" (Spanish: "Ponte la camiseta Perú"), which implied support for Fujimori. Political analysts consider that the strategic use of the national team's jersey reduced the lead held by Pedro Castillo, the Free Peru political candidate. Castillo condemned what he called the "tarnishing" of the national team's jersey. Sociologist Sandro Venturo also expressed concern at the politicization of the national team's jersey, which he argues "in principle represents all Peruvians" regardless of their political leaning.[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Image modified from the cover art of the renown Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico, N° 919 (February 1937).
  2. ^ During these games in Callao, the Peruvians possibly invented the bicycle kick, which is known in Peru as the chalaca (meaning "from Callao").[5]
  3. ^ Pulgar-Vidal Otálora additionally indicates that players from Lima and Callao also composed the FPF's first official Peru national football team in 1927.[6]

References

  1. ^ Witzig 2006, p. 338.
  2. ^ a b c d "La Blanquiroja" (in Spanish). ArkivPeru. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b García, Oscar (19 October 2018). "Esta es la historia de la camiseta de la selección peruana | FOTOS | SOMOS". El Comercio.
  4. ^ Henshaw 1979, p. 571.
  5. ^ DK Publishing 2011, p. 100.
  6. ^ a b c Jaime Pulgar-Vidal Otálora (23 October 2007). "La Selección Peruana de 1924" (in Spanish). Jaime Pulgar-Vidal. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Pulgar-Vidal Otálora 2016, p. 133.
  8. ^ a b Jaime Pulgar-Vidal Otálora (24 February 2007). "Hace 80 Años Debutó Peru" (in Spanish). Jaime Pulgar-Vidal. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  9. ^ Wood 2007, pp. 128–129.
  10. ^ Pulgar-Vidal Otálora 2016, pp. 133–134.
  11. ^ José Luis Pierrend (6 March 2012). "Peru International Results". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  12. ^ Jaime Pulgar-Vidal Otálora (6 September 2012). "La Blanquiroja: La Camiseta de Todos los Colores" (in Spanish). Jaime Pulgar-Vidal. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  13. ^ Mario Fernández (3 December 2010). "Modelo 2011: Conozca la Nueva Camiseta de la Selección peruana". El Comercio (in Spanish). Empresa Editora El Comercio. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  14. ^ "No Adidas – Peru Sign Marathon Kit Deal". Footyheadlines.com. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  15. ^ Marcelo Hidalgo (23 October 2016). "Federación Peruana de Fútbol: todos los escudos en su historia". Depor.com (in Spanish). Empresa Editora El Comercio. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  16. ^ Christopher Turpin (15 June 2010). "The Lost Elegance of Football Jerseys". NPR. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  17. ^ Miles Kohrman (10 July 2014). "Was This the Best World Cup Uniform of All Time?". The New Republic. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  18. ^ Vanessa Friedman (15 June 2018). "A Fashion Expert and a Football Expert Had a Conversation About World Cup Kits". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  19. ^ Roger Bennett (10 March 2010). "Best World Cup jerseys of all time". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Five truths from England's win over Peru". Uk.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  21. ^ "La camiseta de la selección de fútbol de Perú se mete en la campaña electoral". Reuters. 19 May 2021.

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