On Romanian Football: National Team kit 2023–2025
Brand: Joma
Release: March 2023
Versions: Home, Away, Third, Goalkeepers
Era: Euro 2024, Euro 2024 qualifiers, Euro-U21 2023, Nations League 2023
Price: 70€ + 10€ personalisation
Design: by Joma with a brief from FRF (Romanian Football Federation)
Made in: China
Materials: 85% recycled polyester, 15% polyester
Where to buy it online: https://magazin.frf.ro/
Fanshop location:
1. Mega Mall; Bucharest, Romania
2. Romania Store; Mogoșoaia, Romania
Last updated: July 2024 (I keep updated this post)
The new Romanian home shirt for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers is yellow with a design element on the sides. The shorts and socks are also yellow to complete the kit. The away kit is red, and the third option is blue. Goalkeepers have three options: black, green, and grey.
The Romanian design on the shirt side represent the traditional “brâu,” which was a type of belt worn in different regions of Romania, Moldova, Serbia or Ukraine. This “Romanian belt,” is a traditional decorative element used in Romanian folk costumes. It is a narrow woven band with geometric motifs, usually made of wool or cotton, and is often used as a waistband for the traditional Romanian blouse called “ie”. Is a symbol of Romanian cultural heritage and identity.
The brâu has gained different meaning with time. It is also know for calling some folkloric dances as well. The dancers held each other’s belts and spin in circles. With time the dances evolved from holding the belt and instead forming a “human belt”. Today, similar dances are called “sarba” or “hora” and dancers instead hold their hands but still form a “belt” during the performance.
Joma then used again the region motifs, from the 2017 rebrand, inside the brâu design element. These motifs represent the big five regions of Romania and were designed by Brandient for the Romanian Football Federation to commemorate 100 years since the Unification of Romania. These motifs are also found in the Romanian badge/crest that appears on the shirts and are meant to deliver the message that “we are one, we are together”.
Read more on the rebrand:
-> On Romanian Football: The Rebrand of 2017
Nowadays, the word “brâu” is commonly used to refer to the middle area of the body, and the original meaning of the belt has disappeared over time from Romanian modern vocabulary. And here the first questions started to pop-up. Why Joma did not place this element horizontally as a traditional brâu is used? Instead they place it vertically tilted like on the 1994 adidas template shirts.
The home kit now includes yellow shorts instead of the previous white ones, which fans did not like. Many people on social media disliked the white color for both the shorts and the third option shirt, as they felt it was not suitable for Romanian football. Previously, the Romanian kit was always full yellow until the 2021–2023 release, which caused some fans to be sensitive to the change of having the shorts white. However, this year, the kit has returned to full yellow.
When the new kit was released, the Romanian National Team’s social media channels were flooded with negative comments from fans. After researching and talking to fans about the shirts for many years, it became clear that the hate is directed towards Joma, the brand, rather than the design or style of the shirt. Fans seem to dislike the “j” on the chest, and this hate can be seen in the comments on Instagram and Facebook during the release day.
Joma has a contract with the Romanian Football Federation until December 2026, and although Puma was rumored to take over in 2022, Joma offered more to renew the contract.
My previous Romania shirt reviews:
-> National Team kit 2021–2023
-> National Team kit 2018–2020
-> National Team kit 2015–2017
-> Timeline: Romania’s Joma kits from 2015 to present day
Highlights:
1. Red is back!
Get excited, because red is back! For the first time in history, the Romanian football team has dropped the red color as an away option in previous year kits due to a superstition that it brings bad luck. However, the red color is back on the menu for Romanian football, despite being associated with the World Cup quarterfinal game lost in 1994 at penalties.
Interestingly, the main sponsors of a team can drive the choice of colors, just like what happened in 2009 when Romania used white as an alternative shirt but then switched back to red after signing a contract with a Romanian beer manufacturer called “Ursus.” Rumor has it that “Ursus” specifically requested red shirts to be used, as their logo was also red.
This time, the German-French supermarket chain “Penny,” whose logo is red, is one of the biggest sponsors of Romanian football. The Romanian Federation and Penny recently signed a new contract, which could bring a major cash flow positive if the team manages to qualify for Euro 2024.
2. Blue is staying.
Blue has been kept as an alternative away kit. Although during the Euro 2024 qualifiers the blue kit will not be used at a senior level. Youth and women’s team used blue from the previous 2021–2023 kits very often. But I think this is due to the lack of yellow shirts left and having more of the blue ones left in stock.
3. Grey goalkeepers?
Goalkeepers have one new color since last year. Black was kept, it was last year too. Light green (Neon) was kept, it was last year too. The new color introduced this year is grey. While on the green shirts a blue color font can be used, on the black shirts a white font but what will appear on the grey ones if they will ever be used?
Later edit July 2024 — the grey color has been used in 3 games so far. It became Florin Niță favourite color choice.
4. Fit and weight
The fit is way tighter than the previous ones. If you want to have a comfortable fit then buy a size bigger than your regular clothes size. The shirt is also a bit heavier in weight than the previous one.
5. The V collar
The design of the shirt has been a hot topic among fans, with much discussion focused on the V collar.
Many believe that the design choice is kitschy and detracts from the traditional aesthetic of the shirt, particularly the brâu motif. When it comes to designing a football shirt, there is not much room for creativity due to the limitations of the material. The fabric is carefully chosen for its comfort and performance, leaving only the collar and cuffs as areas to showcase creativity. However, the size of the V collar on this shirt draws too much attention away from the embossed motifs on the sides, which were meant to be the main design feature.
A better approach would have been to use a smaller V on the cuffs instead(as seen on Macron shirts) or maybe a round collar (like Man City 22/23 kit).
6. New yellow
In my previous review of the 2021–2023 shirts, I criticized the choice of a lemon yellow color. However, this time Joma has done a great job in choosing the shade of yellow. It is one of the best yellow shades they have picked since the partnership began in 2015, and as a fan, you will definitely appreciate it.
To me, the most notable feature of Romanian football shirts is the yellow color. Just like Brazil, Sweden, and Colombia, Romania needs its unique shade of yellow. Unfortunately, Joma has been using the same yellow shade from Villareal for the Romanian national team, and it’s time for a change. This year none of the fans commented about the yellow as they did with the previous shirts.
7. Patches make the shirt
The font and Euro 2024 patches add a new dimension to the shirt, giving it a fresh look. The official qualification patches on the sleeves complement the shirt perfectly during official matches. The font and match details round out the shirt, making it more appealing. Fans who saw the shirts in action, either at the stadium during the Belarus match or on TV against Andorra, have had a change of heart about it. The overall kit is now considered decent despite the initial hate it got.
8. The Brancusi Font
Since I helped design the number font for these shirts, I’d like to share the story of how it came to be in a future post. The font is based on a hexagon shape, and if you look closely, you can see the Brancusi “Endless column” taking shape when the hexagons are layered on top of each other inside the numbers. Below is the first mockup form where it all began. In the end the font went through many revisions and the end result can be seen on the match shirts.
July 2024 update — I have written up how the font came to life:
On Romanian Football: National Team font 2023–2025
Details on Romania National Team home shirt
Embroidered:
- “J” on the chest — previously was rubber
Heat press:
- Match details between Joma logo and Romania crest
- Official Product Joma trademark on the bottom left of the shirt
- Tagline and sizing on the collar
- “J” trademark on the shoulders
- “Romania” crest on the chest
- Romanian aquila on the back of the shirt at the top
Personal thoughts
We don’t need to talk about yellow anymore
In my previous review, I expressed frustration about the yellow color choice on the 2021–2023 shirts. However, it seems that Joma has listened and made a change for these new shirts. In my opinion, the “Romanian yellow” should be a blend of yellow and orange. Happy this was adjusted.
Tricolor is there
Fans also complained about the absence of the Romanian flag on the previous Joma shirt, but now it appears on the cuffs/sleeves, which I personally appreciate. Way better than using it on the collar like it happened with 2015–2017 shirts.
The white “j”s.
On the red and blue away shirts, the “J” logo is white on the chest and sleeves. However, Romania has always used yellow font for player names and numbers on the red shirts, which will clash with these white logos and the blue aquila at the top of the collar making a bad contrast of three colors all together. Joma should have considered this before making the design of the shirt. The same issue exists on the blue shirts.
Deboss style
Joma has been using the same design technique on all Romanian shirts since 2017, which is disappointing for me as a fan. I believe they should explore new options such as design patterns or detailing to take it to the next level.
Fun facts:
- For the first two games, in the new shirts, against Belarus and Andorra, some players had to get their shirts adjusted by a tailor because the new sizing was too tight compared to the older models
- The font I co-designed has been already copied and up for sale, so be careful for fake shirts.
- Just a heads up: the national team won’t be wearing blue shirts during the Euro 2024 qualifying games. As of July 2024 none of the senior or youth team have used it.
Later update July 2024: National Futsal team used the blue shirts first, the senior men and women teams, have not yet
My personal top for Joma Romania shirt releases:
1. Joma 2017–2021 home yellow shirt long sleeve (used only in 4 games)
2. Joma 2021–2023 away blue shirt
3. Joma 2023–2025 home yellow shirt
4. Joma 2017–2021 purple goalkeeper shirt
5. Joma 2017–2021 away red shirt
6. Joma 2023–2005 away red shirt
7. Joma 2021–2023 third white shirt
9. Joma 2023–2025 away blue shirt
10. Joma 2021–2023 coral goalkeeper shirt
I regularly post stories about Romania match worn shirts on Instagram.
If you want to get in touch with me you can find me there: https://www.instagram.com/onromanianfootball/
On Romanian Football articles:
National Team kit 2021–2023 (yellow)
National Team Away kit 2021–2023 (blue)
National Team Away kit 2021–2023 (white)
National Team kit 2018–2020 (yellow)
National Team Away kit 2018–2020 (red)
National Team kit 2015–2017 (yellow and red)
Joma Kits Timeline: Joma Kits timeline
