Period concerns prompt Swansea City Ladies to switch to black shorts
- Published
Jess Williams (left) and Ellie Lake (right) are among the Swansea City Ladies players who will wear black shorts as part of their white home kit from now on
Swansea City Ladies will switch from white to black shorts when wearing their white home kit "to lessen period concerns during games".
West Bromwich Albion women led the way when they announced they would wear navy rather than white shorts in September.
Stoke City women switched to red shorts earlier this month, with Swansea now joining the initiative.
"It means a lot to all the girls," said Swansea defender Jess Williams.
"I think it's a big step for the women's game and it's a good step for Swansea to be taking."
Swansea's hierarchy have backed the move, which has been approved by the Football Association of Wales.
They host Aberystwyth in the Adran Leagues on Sunday, 23 October at Llandarcy Park (14:00 BST) with the black shorts to be worn for the first time since the announcement.
In a statement, Swansea, whose change of kits are orange and blue or grey and black, said: "Wearing white during your period is not something any woman would choose, and wearing white shorts during a sporting fixture even less so.
"Women in sport have had to contend with this for a long time."
Williams added: "For some teams playing it white shorts is an ongoing thing, so for the Swans to take the steps so fast once it was raised as an issue means a lot to us.
"We're all going to feel a lot more comfortable playing in our home kit going forward.
"It's a bit of a weight off our shoulders to be honest. We can go out and just play now without any worries or feeling like you have to check with a team-mate that your shorts are okay.
"Now we can just go out and play the game and have no worries.
"We're really pleased to be the first team in the Adran Leagues to do this - it's a good step, not just for us as a team, but for the league as well."
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