Introduced last March for the 2010 Major League Soccer season, the Adidas TECHFIT uniforms have been seen in the FIFA World Cup. The question going around the Web is whether the results were more psychological than physical? The other technology advance seen in the uniforms for the World Cup is in how the technology has made the leap from typical under garments to be the material in the actual uniforms. This is notable with the FORMOTION uniforms, which is an alternative, which also offers moisture-wicking fabrics and mesh construction to help provide ventilation and keep the athletes cool.
So is this a lot of hype? There is no doubt that clothing not only makes the man, or makes the woman, but as we’ve seen improvements in garments can help reduce drag, keep an athlete cooler and improve performance. The question now is did the TECHFIT and FORMOTION uniforms do as much physically as it did mentally?
The TECHFIT uniforms consisted of compression fabrics and strategically placed TPU (Thermoplastic Urethane) bands that were located in key areas. This was cited as being able to enhance muscle power, and according to news reports TECHFIT was “proven” to increase a player’s power by 5.3 percent, vertical leap by 4 percent and sprint speed by 1.1 percent, as well as to enhance endurance by 0.8 percent. This sounds like the suit from Greatest American Hero to us! But at $150 a pop it is probably almost as expensive.
What was also worth noting is that several teams including South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, Spain, Germany and France have worn both TECHFIT and FORMOTION uniforms, while other nations such as Greece, Denmark, Slovakia, Paraguay and Nigeria were outfitted with FORMOTION uniforms and a TECHFIT base layer. Sounds good right? Well, consider this… the team from the Netherlands was reported fitted with Nike made uniforms!
So we’re not one to question the psychological effects either. If you look good and feel good by looking good, you’ll probably play better too.