The AFL has announced white shorts will be scrapped for women and girls playing the sport, just weeks after Wimbledon made the historic call to relax its white dress policy.
In a statement, the AFL said all teams across the AFLW, VFLW, AFLW U18 National Championships, and any AFL-managed women and girls talent pathways activity would now be exempt from wearing white shorts as part of their uniform.
The decision was made to reduce barriers for women and girls playing sport, given the global challenges faced during menstrual cycles.
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AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said she was pleased with the change in uniform rules.
“I’m proud of the position the AFL has taken with this decision and thank our players for their leadership and passion. Whilst this is a policy change for women and girls in AFL-run competitions, the ripple effect for community sport for women and girls is immense – we want to lead to remove any barriers that prevent women and girls participate in Australian football,” Livingstone said.
AFLW competitions boss Laura Kane said the announcement was an historic day for the sport.
“This is a pinnacle moment in the AFL’s history, creating a uniform policy that reflects the modern needs of female athletes,” Kane said.
“There has been a movement in women’s sport globally to address athlete anxieties around wearing white shorts or pants during menstrual cycles.
“We have listened to our players and industry experts and created a best-practice policy to ensure we are removing any participation or performance barriers.”
All 18 clubs will have a home set of coloured shorts, while the AFL will have to approve a separate coloured set for clash strips.
The new-look uniforms will be in place for the 2023 season.
Just last month, Wimbledon tournament organisers made history when the strict all-white outfit rules were relaxed to allow women to wear dark coloured undershorts.
Earlier this year former Australian top 20 player Daria Saville admitted she used to skip her period in fear of the prestigious tournament’s all-white dress policy.
“One time I got a period mid-match. I went to the bathroom and then was like oh surprise. We are only allowed two toilet breaks during a match,” she stated on social media.
“Thank god I had a female umpire.”
Originally published as White shorts scrapped as AFL announces uniform change for women
