Napoli are gunning to go all the way in the UEFA Champions League this season and Italian brand EA 7 (Emporio Armani) released a rather unique third kit for them to wear on the European trips over the course of the campaign.
Gli Azzurri reigned supreme in Serie A last season, dominating their way towards winning the Scudetto title – only their third-ever in history. Napoli are arguably Italy’s strongest side in the Champions League this season and have been placed in a group with Real Madrid, Union Berlin and S.C Braga.
Napoli unveil 23/24 third kit
So to ensure that their trips to the Santiago Bernabeu, Germany and Portugal has them looking at their best, EA 7 has released their third kit which has a fascinating new design to it. The black and gold third kit is quite different from the aqua-blue shirt that they wore to European games last season.
This season’s third kit is generally a black jersey with their logos and the EA 7 logo all designed in gold, perhaps as an ode to them winning the Serie A title last season.
However, the real selling factor of this kit and what really helps it stand apart from others is the ‘tattoo design’ that EA 7 have inserted into the sleeves area and the top left of the shirt.
These tattoos are actually inspired by Maori Tattoos that are the trademark of the Maori civilization, which is the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Maori tattoos are inscribed in a dark green colour, and perfectly blend into the black and gold aura of the kit.
As per EA 7, the third kit ‘features the design of different Maori tattoos in dark green, symbol of union, stamina, strength and power’. Basically, the tattoos have been implemented into the kit to symbolize the strength and unity of the current Napoli squad, which helped them win the Scudetto title in such convincing fashion last season.
Why Napoli and EA 7 are being criticized for using Maori tattoo
However, Napoli and EA 7 have attracted some criticism for their decision to stand out from the rest by inscribing the Maori tattoos into the kit.
That is because an Italian team really doesn’t have any connections to the Polynesian Cultural heritage and not a single member of the Napoli squad is either of Maori descent either.
Fans are totally confused over why they would decide to touch the Maori design despite having no similarities with the indigenous people at all.
In fact, they might actually end up offending a lot of people from the Maori culture because it is inadvisable for someone who is not related to the Polynesian people to get such a tattoo.
A member of the Maori culture once explained to the BBC why anyone apart from the Polynesian tribe can’t get a tattoo as theirs, saying: “It’s not acceptable. You can only have it if you have a genealogy that is Maori. It reflects who we are and it represents your family, your sub-tribes and tribes.”
It’s quite clear that this is something deeply personal to the Maori people and there could be a solid reason behind Napoli being criticized for inscribing their tattoos onto their kit, which will be worn by thousands of non-Maori people, just to make it look cool and appealing to the general mass.
With that being said, the Italian side appears to have impressed many with this unique kit – which is priced at a whopping €130 as the release price. The Napoli players can probably pay a respectable homage to the Maori culture by playing like warriors while wearing this kit and going a long way into the Champions League.
