Peru national football team kit

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.

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.

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.

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. During leisure, British civilian workers and sailors played the sport among themselves and with locals in Callao and other commercial zones throughout South America. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Leguía's government promoted the development of football as the country's national pastime, and Peruvian society at the time considered that the president sponsored the local football club Alianza Lima. 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. 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.

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.

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

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

Peru National Football Team Kit Evolution

1924

1927-1929

1930

1935

Since 1936

Sponsorship

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). Umbro have produced the team's kit since 2010. Marathon supplied kits since 1 August 2018.

Suppliers

Kit supplier	Period	Notes
Adidas	1978–1981
Penalty	1981–1982
Adidas	1983–1985
Calvo	1986–1987
Puma	1987–1989
Power	1989–1991
Diadora	1991–1993
Polmer	1993–1995
Umbro	1996–1997
Walon	1998–2010
Umbro	2010–2018
Marathon	2018–2022
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.

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) 2020-2022 (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

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". Miles Kohrman, football reporter for The New Republic, commended Peru's kit as "one of soccer's best-kept secrets". 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". 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".

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

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.

See also

• Chile and Peru football rivalry
• Estadio Nacional (Lima)
• Football in Peru
• History of the Peru national football team
• Peru national football team indiscipline scandals
• Peru national football team records
• Peru national football team results
• Peruvian Primera División
• Sport in Peru

Bibliography

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External links

• Peru FA
• FIFA team profile
• ELO team records