Shit Football Kits: Cameroon’s Indomitable Unitard, 2004
By Chris Wright
The mere fact that FIFA were made to dust off and enforce their ‘all shirts and shorts must be separate items of clothing’ rule for the first time ever when Cameroon took to the field in the 2004 African Nations wearing Indomitable Babygros should be evidence enough that Puma’s ill-fated onesie is crying out to be inducted into the ‘Shit Kits’ annals…
Despite the kit being cleared by the Nations Cup organisers, FIFA were not best pleased when Cameroon flaunted their warning and sported the strip during the group stages of the tournament, thus irking Sepp Blatter by directly contravening his ‘no separate shirt/shorts, no service’ rule…
FIFA banned Cameroon from wearing the kit in the knock-out stages, but Puma countered by claiming that they simply would not be able to produce a re-jigged kit within the space of a week – leading the Lions to throw caution to the wind and wear the strip again during their 2-1 quarter-final defeat against Nigeria…
Taken aback by the insolence on display, FIFA then deducted six points from Cameroon’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and fined their Football Federation the princely sum of $154,000 dollars – a fine which Puma paid on the organisation’s behalf while bizarrely blaming rivals Adidas for influencing the decision due to the German brand’s close ties with football’s governing body.
The dispute rumbled on for months, with Puma adamant that no rules had been broken (except the one about red and green never being seen), until both parties agreed to settle out of court – with FIFA finally restoring the six points they had stripped from Cameroon’s qualifying tally.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that all this hoopla came just two years after Puma and Cameroon both got their knuckles wrapped for trying it on with a sleeveless number at the 2002 World Cup…
Was it worth it? Was it buggery!
More in our Shit Kits collection…
Scunthorpe Take Us To ‘Pleasure Island’, 1994
Puma’s Africa Unity strip, 2010
Wolves’ Goodyear Tyre-Marks, 1992
Colorado Caribous’ Rodeo Fringe, 1978
Huddersfield’s Electric Tie-Dye, 1991/92
Nott’m Forest Keeper Kits Of The Mid-1990s
Sheffield United’s Diamond Kit
Partizan Belgrade, Early 1990s
Hull City’s Tiger Stripes Disaster
The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Lionel Messi – Pulled Off At Half Time
The Demolition Of San Mames (Photos) – Athletic Club Bilbao
101 Greatest Goals Of 2012/13 – 101GG
Mythbusting *That* Maradona Photo At '82 World Cup – Flip Flop Flying
Surprising Age Of Footballers – Daniel Storey On Tumblr
Named And Shamed: 37 English Clubs Offering Unpaid Jobs – Sporting Intelligence
2013 Champions League Final Viewing Companion – Dirty Tackle
Very Best Of ESPN FC's Toe Poke Blog 2012/13
The 'Transfer Talks' Flowchart – Football Cliches
Remembering Ivan Turina – A Football Report
I’ve read that the players really liked playing in the one piece kit, and it would stop anyone from removing their shirt after a goal (I hope anyway). Clearly Sepp doesn’t like anything innovative when it comes to his ‘beautiful game’. When Puma released the replica version for fans it was actually a pretty nice looking shirt with the claw marks on the side.
On a side note I’ve played in the Puma sleeveless kit and it is very comfortable especially on hot days, I really am surprised that it never took off.
Am I the only one wondering how on earth do you get that on?
@D: Good point! I’ve got absolutely no idea.
You put one leg in the head hole, and you bum in the left sleeve and your right arm in the shorts and Bob’s your Uncle.
LOL at jeff banks,
@D: I really can’t believe that hasn’t crossed my, or anyone that i know’s mind before!
The kit itself wasn’t bad, I would say it was honestly the best effort by Puma in a very long time. However the idea and the ‘ingenuity’ screams incredulous stupidity. It was a cheap gimmick to get the kit noticed.
I was also wondering about how to put it on
@D The top opened up at the shoulder with a small zipper and you pulled it on like a dress. (Insert jokes here)
In this link you can see it on Eto’s shoulders:
http://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,14555,@,puma-statement-concerning-the-cameroon-uniqt.html
I personally prefer the sleeveless one!
to get it on, there is a small zip on the players left shoulder. still I think the shirt isn’t that rubbish but the pants look horrible next to it.
@Joe Cheers buddy… no more sleepless nights pondering this mystery! At least the zipper wasn’t down the back.. might get a bit awkward asking your mates to ‘zip you up’ before every game!
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One last bit of info on this kit from this site:
http://www.passionemaglie.it/2010/12/le-maglie-del-camerun-da-le-coq-sportif-a-puma-passando-per-adidas-mitre-e-lotto/
Scroll down and you can see they had three color versions of this kit, and a commercial showing the players zipping up the shoulders.