Football
Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer 2y

NWSL side Orlando Pride go interstellar for new 2022 away kit

The Orlando Pride have revealed their new away kit for the 2022 season and once again the National Women's Soccer League side has adopted an interstellar theme with which to adorn the latest uniform.

In a neighborly nod to the Kennedy Space Center, which shares its home city, the Pride have used the latest strip to pay homage to NASA and in particular to all the women who have helped lay the foundation for future space exploration as part of the agency's history.

The "Luna" kit design is principally inspired by NASA's recently announced Artemis Program, a $28 billion project that aims to land the first woman and person of color on the moon in 2024, in what would be its first lunar landing since the Apollo 17 mission of 1972.

The Pride shirt features a pale lunar landscape awash in ethereal colors that have been selected from a custom palette with apt tones such as "Moon" grey, "Space" black, "Astronaut" white and "Rocket" aluminum -- a silvery metallic hue akin to the thermal shielding used to insulate and protect spacecraft.

The tag also features the image of Artemis -- twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology and immortal goddess of the hunt, nature and the moon. She wields a glittering silver bow aimed into the infinite expanse of the universe.

Pride players Toni Pressley, Gunny Jonsdottir and Celia Jimenez assembled at the Kennedy Space Center for a promotional photoshoot that involved modeling the club's new kit in the shadow of the giant thrusters of the famous Saturn V rocket.

This is a continuation of the aerospace motif introduced with Pride's 2021 home kit, which featured a purple gradient design speckled across the shoulders with a twinkling constellation of stars. It also bore the Latin motto "Ad Astra" ("To the Stars.")

Whereas the Ad Astra kit was inspired by the history of space travel, Pride's new Luna strip is inspired by the future.

"We are proud to again bring a kit to our fans and players that represents something bigger than soccer with roots in our local community," said Pedro Aruajo, Pride brand vice president. "Like the history-makers the Luna kit pays tribute to, we're excited to see our players wear this jersey on the field to continue inspiring the next generation of groundbreakers and pioneers."

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