Once again, the Nigerian national team have taken their World Cup style to a whole new level as they set off for Russia on Monday, reports the Daily Mail.
They have made a name for themselves as a team to watch at this summer’s tournament in Russia, not just for their exciting, fast-paced style of football but for their dress sense too.
First it was the announcement of their tournament kits that sent football supporters crazy. Now it is their travel attire that has got everybody talking.
They nailed it with their kits, and have delivered the goods yet again as they boarded their plane to Russia wearing traditional Nigerian clothes, Buba and Sokoto’s.
From head to toe, the Nigerian squad have indulged in their culture and clearly have no intentions of blending in with the crowd other nations looking to upset the odds in Russia.
While sticking to tradition, however, designers of their outfits have also kept faith with the football them by placing football’s on the collars of the white and green outfits.
The exotic choice of clothing has seen them quickly become a fan-favourite before a ball has even been kicked in Russia and is shown by the response the travel outfit has received on social media.
One fan wrote on Twitter: ‘Love the fact you guys aren’t going in suit. We are Africans. We dress like one to Russia. Goodluck.’
After their recent kit launch for the World Cup, they sent football fans into a frenzy as they raced to their nearest Nike store to purchase a replica for their official home and away strips.
Nike explained after the kit’s February release that they wanted to ‘tap into the attitude of the nation’, with a brief nod to their World Cup debut at the 1994 tournament in the USA.
The demand for the green zig-zagged home shirts was so high, that some were being sold online at a resale price of £300.
Their kit release sent football fans into a mad frenzy as they raced to get their own replica.
They will hope their performance in Russia will match their creative ambition in kit designs, though, and will need to improve upon their efforts in warm-up defeats by England and Czech Republic.
They enter the competition as one of the lowest ranked sides, 48th in the FIFA rankings, and third favourites to make it out of their group.
They kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Kaliningrad on June 16, followed by Iceland in Volgograd and will then complete the group stages when they face Argentina in St Petersburg.
