“Al-Nashama” shirts for the 2026 World Cup...this is what a Jordanian designer revealed

Jordanian Dania Al-Lozi, 22 years old, a graduate of the Picasso Institute of Design and Arts, did not expect that her passion for fashion and her family’s connection to football would lead her to an exceptional station in her early career, by choosing the new designs she presented for the Jordanian national football team’s “Nashama” shirts, for the team’s expected historic participation in the 2026 World Cup. Al-Lozi told the Arabic website ofoq news that she fought a strong competition before the Jordanian Football Association was chosen. Her designs, explaining that students and graduates of the Picasso Institute received an invitation to attend an introductory meeting from the institute’s administration at the beginning of the year, without disclosing the nature of the meeting, except to inform them that it was an invitation to participate in a competition that would lead “Picasso to the world.”

It later became clear, according to Al-Lawzi, that the meeting was about announcing a competition launched by the Jordanian Football Association to present new designs for the team’s official uniforms, known in the colors red, white, and black, within standards linked to the International Federation of Association Football, and within a short period of time that did not exceed ten days to present the initial concepts. Al-Lawzi indicated that she completed the initial designs at the end of last February, before receiving approval in March, after which she entered an implementation and development phase that lasted approximately two months, which included experiments on the type of fabrics, color shades, and technical details, in cooperation with the Kelme company in Jordan.

The three new designs for the national team’s shirts were chosen to tell “an authentic story of identity rooted deep in time, through a visual system inspired by prominent symbols in Jordanian culture, thus enhancing the presence of national identity on the global football scene,” according to what was stated in the announcement of the Jordanian Football Association at the official launch of the shirts on May 18, 2026. The primary and reserve shirts celebrate the symbolism of the Jordanian shemagh with its red and white pattern, as it is one of the most prominent. Symbols of national identity that have been associated with Jordanians in various details of their daily lives, and have over time been a symbol of pride and honor and a symbol of the determination that characterizes “the starchy,” according to an announcement by the Jordanian Football Association.

As for the third shirt, which caused widespread reactions with its color hues between violet and black, Al-Lozi inspired its design from the black iris, the national flower of Jordan, and the shades of violet and black intertwine in a visual composition that reflects “the cohesion of Jordanians and their connection to nature and the living national heritage.” Al-Lawzi said: “When the participants were asked to submit designs, I worked on the three colors in different and new designs, with a special focus on the black color, which was given a wider space to express the visual identity, while the white and red shirts were based on the national team’s primary colors, with the addition of decorative elements inspired by the patterns of the Jordanian shemagh.”

Al-Lozi pointed out that the basic idea of ​​the black shirt stemmed from the “black iris,” which she chose with determination as a symbol that combines uniqueness and simplicity, and reflects a clear national identity far from direct traditional symbols. The Jordanian designer considered that her choice of the black iris was a challenge for her, especially since the embodiment of this flower highlights clear visual symbolism on a sports shirt that reflects a national identity in global participation, without losing its simplicity, significance, aesthetics, or specifications, while highlighting the gradations of colors.

Al-Lawzi revealed the stages of design implementation, explaining that the international company Kelme, which has a cooperation agreement with the Jordanian Football Association, worked with it on the technical aspects and technical specifications related to fabrics and color tones, and the designs went through careful modification stages before being approved in their final form. Al-Lawzi pointed out that the support of her family, her mother, and the passion of her uncles and her father, who owns about 60 shirts for different teams, clubs, and players around the world, made the course of the experience “an elegant mix of personal passion and family sports interest.”

Regarding the moment of her selection, she says that she felt extremely happy, considering that her contribution to a national event of this magnitude represents great pride and responsibility at the same time, especially with Jordan’s participation in a historic World Cup approaching. The Jordanian designer believed that this experience opened a new door for her in the world of sports design, and gave her greater confidence in venturing into creative fields that she had not previously thought about entering, stressing that combining fashion and sports revealed to her a different space for artistic expression.

The artistic dimension in the design of the Jordanian national team shirts extended to include the numbers and letters of the shirt, designed by the designer and letterer Hussein Al-Azaat, as it was inspired by the cultural heritage of the Nabataeans and their contributions to the development of writing and culture, in addition to the spirit of challenge and courage and building Petra as a civilization firmly established in the rock of Jordan and the region, in parallel with the spirit of the national team players and their participation in the 2026 World Cup. The writing of the numbers, according to the official promotional advertisement for the shirts, was designed with pointed ends inspired by drawers. Nabatieh is carved on the mountains of the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan, indicative of progress, ambition and the journey towards the summit, with the integration of modern visual technologies inspired by “pixels” and digital cubes, reflecting the meeting of originality with technology, and yesterday with tomorrow, and translating the aspirations of the new generations who see the “Nashama” team as a source of inspiration for the challenge and keeping pace with the future.

It is noteworthy that the Jordanian national football team, led by Moroccan coach Jamal Al-Salami, succeeded in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals for the first time in its history, after a strong campaign in the Asian qualifiers during the year 2025.