The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation has unveiled its national football jersey, designed in collaboration with sports brand PlayerLayer.

Created by designer Matías Otero, the 2030 No-Home Jersey serves as a visual metaphor for the existential threat that rising sea levels pose to the Pacific island nation.

The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation has unveiled its national football jersey

Despite having players, a federation and a football field, the Marshall Islands remains the only UN-recognised nation without an officially recognised national football team.

The No-Home Jersey aims to speed up the recognition process with the Oceania Football Confederation while raising awareness about the devastating effects of climate change.

The number 1.5 on the front of the jersey references the Paris Agreement

“This jersey serves a dual purpose – celebrating the unique and wonderful parts of our nation such as its wildlife and traditions while reminding the governing bodies that they must act quickly to help us get recognised,” the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation‘s commercial director Matt Webb told Dezeen.

“If global warming continues at its current rate, our nation may be faced with irreversible damage from rising sea waters and permanent flooding.”

Promotional materials depict the No-Home Jersey gradually disappearing through cut-outs, mirroring research suggesting that the Marshall Islands could vanish within 50 years if global emissions remain unchecked.

Promotional materials show the jersey gradually disappearing through cut-outs

“The visual storytelling of the jersey disappearing is a metaphor to show the real-life threat to the precious land of the Marshall Islands,” Webb explained.

While the cut-out version of the jersey was created for the campaign, the complete, intact version will be worn in matches.

The 2030 No-Home Jersey also conveys its message through other design details including the number 1.5 emblazoned on its front – a reference to the global temperature threshold set out in the Paris Agreement.

If exceeded, this could have catastrophic effects on the Marshall Islands and other vulnerable nations, meaning the football team could eventually have no home – and thus no home games.

“In football, teams traditionally have a home and an away jersey – the away is worn when you play outside of your home,” said Webb.

“We are the first team in the world to release a 2030 jersey because that is when the rising temperature is expected to exceed the critical 1.5 degrees and when we become at serious risk of irreversible damage to our home.”

The jersey features Indigenous symbols

The jersey features symbols of flora, fauna and cultural objects that are indigenous to the nation such as the great white shark, the national Plumeria flower, a traditional Marshallese drel hand fan and the outrigger canoe used by the Marshallese people to transport themselves across the ocean.

The kit is also emblazoned with the slogan “we deserve to thrive”, a quote from Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner reinforcing the nation’s fight for survival amid the climate crisis.

The kit raises awareness about climate change while advocating for the team’s recognition

“The popularity and global appeal of football gave us the unique ability to tell a story, so we harnessed that power,” Webb said.

“We want more people to know who the Marshall Islands are and we want to educate them about our nation,” he added. “We are a proud people and we look forward to showing the world what we can do.”

Other recent football kits published on Dezeen include Forest Green Rovers shirts decorated with climate change graphics and floral Walthamstow FC kits by mid-19th-century designer William Morris.

The photography is courtesy of the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation.

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