Years of topping the worst-dressed lists of international football are now fading into a distant, forgettable past for Costa Rica’s national team, which has finally inserted itself into the modern age with another sharp-looking kit to add to its wardrobe.
The special edition uniform, designed by New Balance, is made solely for June’s Copa América Centenario tournament, the ceremonial event celebrating 100 years of the continent’s most important international football championship.
The new design features a deep red body with white trims on the collar and sleeves, as well as gold numbering and lettering. A large Costa Rican flag embroidered over the left chest combines with more subtle accents, like the word “La Sele” imprinted on the sleeve and “Costa Rica” in white on the back neck, to give the kit some welcome flavor.
See the new kit for yourself in the release video that New Balance published Thursday morning on its Facebook page:
The Costa Rican Football Federation (FEDEFUTBOL) also published a look at the “away team” version of the new jerseys, presumably to be used in its second match against the United States in Chicago, Illinois. The white versions feature the same gold fonts as the home uniforms, while inverting the collars to red.
“One-of-a-kind, for a unique event and to make history… This will be the second uniform for La Sele in the #Copa100,” FEDEFUTBOL tweeted in Spanish.
Única, para un evento único y para hacer historia… 😎👏
Esta será la segunda camiseta de #LaSele para la #Copa100🏆. pic.twitter.com/2HkIVfIiXW
— FEDEFUTBOL Costa Rica (@fedefutbolcrc) April 28, 2016
Though the Copa América usually occurs every four years, the special 100th anniversary of the tournament is being held just 12 months after last year’s edition in Chile, where the host nation beat favored Argentina in a penalty shootout finale.
Costa Rica will start tournament play on June 4 when it takes on Paraguay in Orlando, Florida. Two years after topping a group of three former world champions in its spectacular 2014 World Cup run, La Sele was again drawn into the “group of death” where it will also have to face the U.S. and Colombia. This is the first time Costa Rica has been invited to the South American-based tournament since 2011, where it lost in the group stages to Colombia and Argentina.
Below are some more angles of the new kits and a look at the keeper uniform, courtesy of FEDEFUTBOL:
