First Nations artist Reko Rennie designs new Matildas and Socceroos kits

The Matildas and Socceroos will wear matching kits for the first time since 2019 in a design by First Nations artist Reko Rennie. See the details behind the historic new look.

The Matildas will be sporting a very different look at the SheBelieves Cup with the team the first of the national sides to don the new Nike kit designed by Kamilaroi artist Reko Rennie.

Nike and Football Australia will officially unveil the new kit on February 21 – on the same day the Matildas will wear it for their opening SheBelieves Cup match against Japan.

It is the first time an Australian national football team’s playing kit has been designed by a First Nations artist.

A sneak peak shows artist Rennie in the anthem jacket which features bursts of light green and dark green on the sleeves and bold pops of pink along the shoulders.

While the kit is expected to feature a chevron pattern using the traditional greens and yellows.

It is not the first time Rennie has worked on sports apparel – in 2022 he designed a one off racing helmet which was signed by F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

First Nations artist Rennie Reko showing off the new anthem jacket for the revamped Matildas and Socceroos kits. Image: Supplied by Nike

Nike Brand Director Nick Atkinson said the project had been in the works for three years.

“This is a really, really special one for sure,” Atkinson said.

“It’s taken some time to get here, we’ve been looking for the right time to bring First Nations representation into the national team kits for a number of years, we just wanted to do it in the right way at the right time.”

While keeping the details locked up tight until the official reveal Atkinson said the kit would be made from the latest dryfit technology and feature bold, bright colours and a chevron design.

Like most First Nations art the kit will tell a story.

“Storytelling is the defining characteristic of the references that are contained in the jersey in both the home kit and the away kit and the anthem jersey,” Atkinson said.

“There’s no question the story is unity through cultural visibility, whether that’s the kind of bright bold colours in the kit, the chevron that’s about moving forward and the overarching design.

“The chevron pattern that’s used is commonly used on First Nations messaging sticks to carry messages between communities and what better medium for a message of unity than a football kit.”

First Nations artist Reko Rennie gives a sneak peak at the pattern that will form part of the new Matildas and Socceroos kits to be launched later this month. Photo: Eugene Hyland.

In recent years the Matildas and Socceroos have worn different kits – the Matildas famously donning a teal away kit during the 2023 World Cup.

But this cycle will see both teams in the same kit for the first time since 2019. The two sides were split in the lead up to the 2019 Women’s FIFA World Cup in a bid to help the Matildas build their own identity.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson said decking both the men’s and women’s teams out in the same kit showed a “united front”.

“It is going to be a very important period for Australian football, we will see the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup in this uniform and in that same uniform we will see the Matildas compete at the Asian Cup,” Johnson said.

Atkinson said Nike were expecting it to be popular among fans, especially the anthem jacket. The release will also include the goalkeeper jersey.

“I think people are very excited that something really new is coming and that the design is going to be so progressive,” Atkinson said.

“This is going to take the Matildas and Socceroos together somewhere really new.”

Jersey prices will range from $100 for youths to $180 for adult sizes.

Originally published as First Nations artist Reko Rennie designs new Matildas and Socceroos kits