Soccer

Ingenious Soccer Jerseys Will Make You Donate Blood

Vitória, a second-division Brazilian football club, has new kits for the upcoming season that caught our attention — although not solely due to their design.

The club typically plays in red and black uniforms, but they’ll be starting the season in black jerseys with horizontal white stripes. That might be unsettling to fans, who are used to the team, nicknamed the “Red and Blacks,” having red stripes, but there’s a reason for the alteration: the club is promoting blood donation, and the stripes will be filled in red as the amount of blood given increases. When the first goal is reached, the bottom stripe will become red, then the next stripe after the next goal is reached, and so on, until all four stripes are red and the jerseys are back to normal. We’re guessing some people will be helped along the way.

Lots of folks complain about the commercialization of soccer jerseys (what with their advertisements and all) but there aren’t going to be any ads at all on these jerseys. And while second-division football may have initiated the idea, we wouldn’t be surprised if this caught on on a larger scale: it’s almost undoubtedly going to draw in donors, and it will probably be great for jersey sales, too.

Their marketing director deserves a raise or a call-up to the big leagues. Maryland must be hiring, right?

[h/t reddit; Who Ate All The Pies]

Follow Matt Rudnitsky