It normally doesn’t take much for soccer mad Nigerians to be excited about the Super Eagles but one reason the jerseys are proving quite popular is because they pay homage to some of Nigeria’s best ever moments in soccer. The away jersey is reminiscent of Nigeria’s jerseys at the 1994 World Cup when the country made its first ever appearance at the tournament.

The iconic photo of Rashidi Yekini celebrating after scoring Nigeria’s first ever World Cup goal in 1994
The iconic photo of Rashidi Yekini celebrating after scoring Nigeria’s first ever World Cup goal in 1994
Image: Reuters/Oleg Popov

Similarly, the badge has also reportedly been recolored in honor of Nigeria’s team at the 1996 Olympicsthe first African team to win gold in the soccer event at the Olympics. Nigeria is the latest unveil a retro-inspired jersey with several World Cup-bound teams recreating kits from the 1980s and 1990s.

Just as well, for many Nigerians, the level of detail in the jersey and the execution of the launch is a nice departure from the past when national teams jerseys have been rather bland. The off-field pieces are a hit, too. In a video Nike posted, players seeing the kits for the first time liked the looks so much they started planning what trainers they would wear with them.

The kit launch is the latest in a string of events that have left Nigerians excited about making a sixth appearance at the World Cup. The Super Eagles qualified impressively beating off competition from Cameroon, current African champions, and Algeria, one of the continent’s best teams. The Super Eagles also fielded the youngest side globally during the qualifying series.

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