John McGinn jokes Aston Villa’s controversial Castore shirts are ‘still heavy’ after hammering Brighton 6-1… amid ‘wet-look’ kit concerns ahead of women’s game tomorrow

• John McGinn joked Aston Villa’s shirts are still heavy after beating Brighton
• Villa’s women’s team are dreading their opening game because of ‘clingy’ shirts 

John McGinn joked that Aston Villa’s Castore shirts are still heavy following their 6-1 victory against Brighton. 

Villa secured an emphatic victory, with Ollie Watkins hitting a hat-trick, while Pervis Estunpinan scored an own goal while Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz also got on the scoresheet.

Villa’s women’s team are said to be dreading their opening WSL fixture against Manchester United on Sunday because of fears over their ‘clingy’ shirts.

Male players are also understood to have complained to the kit manufacturer over the design of the shirts, claiming the heavy material increases their sweat levels and weighs them down in matches. 

After the win against Brighton McGinn was asked on TNT Sports whether ‘the shirt doesn’t feel too heavy now’, to which he responded: ‘It’s still heavy, don’t worry about that.’

John McGinn joked Aston Villa’s shirts are still heavy following their victory against Brighton

Villa could terminate their partnership with Castore because of concerns over sweaty shirts

Regarding the women’s team, commentator Jacqui Oatley told Mail Sport: ‘They are dreading playing in it, for obvious reasons. No woman that I know wants to get hot and sweaty and have their sports gear cling to them in all places, live on television in particular.’

‘They want to be the best athletes they can be and just focus on football. Instead, they’ve got this issue in the back of their minds where they’re thinking ‘I don’t want to get too hot too quickly and how is this going to look?’

‘Women tend to be self-conscious. It just shouldn’t be happening. I personally think these women need to have a different kit to play in, however they do it, I absolutely think they have to come up with a solution before Sunday.’ 

Carla Ward, the head coach of Villa’s women’s team, admitted that her players have concerns regarding the shirts.

‘[They have] similar concerns to what the men have,’ Ward said. 

‘It was highlighted early in the pre-season on the men’s side and backed up by the women’s. As far as I’m concerned it’s over to the club and Castore to deal with.

‘Certainly my focus has to be the weekend. My focus is making sure the players are focused on the weekend. The one thing I will say is the club have been absolutely superb in these last few days with constant communication of “how can we help the players? What will make them feel better?”

‘There’s a genuine care from the football club so from my point of view, the players feel that, we feel that. Our focus solely now is on Manchester United.’

Villa’s women’s team are dreading their opening game on Sunday because of the ‘clingy’ shirts

Aston Villa are preparing to cut their partnership with Castore short after concerns over the kit

The shirts appear to become soaked within minutes of match action and weigh down players

Aston Villa’s women’s side are thought to have completed a recent pre-season friendly in training kit due to issues with sweat retention

Villa are reportedly set to terminate their partnership with Castore early as they look for a short-term solution to the problem.

Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Wolves are believed to have had the same concerns about their kit during the 2022-23 campaign, but that these complaints did not become public. 

Villa have been discussing a top-priority short-term replacement shirt with their kit supplier and are keen to apply pressure on the manufacturer, although the issue could take weeks to solve. 

The women’s team are understood to have played in their main kit for one pre-season friendly but played the rest of their matches in training gear.

One of those games was against Villarreal, but it is understood training gear was used for this fixture due to Spain’s regulations on gambling. Villa’s shirt sponsor is BK8, an online betting site.

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