Home jersey of nat'l football team: Tiger’s face, doel, hilsa in jamdani motif
The home jersey of Bangladesh’s national football team has been officially unveiled. Like the away jersey, this design too is the work of fashion designer Tasmit Afiat Arny. The home jersey features a harmonious and aesthetic arrangement of traditional Jamdani motifs, creatively portraying the face of a tiger which incorporated with the doel (magpie robin), and the hilsa fish.
The design theme of the away jersey centered around Bangladesh as a riverine country, with a dominant red color. However, the newly revealed home jersey is white, with a thematic green pattern designed mainly on the sleeves. The neck and sleeve ribs are accentuated with a combination of green and red, reflecting the national colours.
The sleeve design clearly highlights a specific theme — the heritage of Bangladesh. Speaking from Doha, Qatar, designer Arny explained, “This time I tried to portray another aspect of the country’s heritage through the home jersey. It was a pre-determined decision that the home jersey would be white, which made the design process quite challenging, but I overcame that.”
Arny currently serves as the Creative Director of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and is a member of its marketing committee. She shared more details about the design elements used in this jersey. Additionally, she successfully runs her own brand, Stride. Being the kit sponsor of the BFF, Dour is marketing these jerseys.
The motif incorporates geometric designs of Jamdani, combined with three national symbols — the Royal Bengal Tiger (national animal), the doel or magpie robin (national bird), and the hilsa (national fish). These elements have been blended with remarkable creativity. As a professional graphic designer, Arny’s mastery in composition is evident.
Jamdani is Bangladesh’s most iconic heritage textile, known for its unique patterns and high craftsmanship. It holds international admiration and was recognised in 2013 by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The designer aimed to represent this traditional textile on a national and international level through the jersey, arranging its various motifs in a refined layout.
Through this layout, Arny brought out the face of a tiger in the design — with a twist. The tiger’s ears are shaped like hilsa fish, and its forehead resembles a doel (magpie robin). So within the tiger’s face, the other two national elements are intelligently embedded. All of this is presented using the intricate Jamdani motif. Moreover, this design also symbolically represents the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest — home to tigers, birds, and fish. A vigil for the southern parts Bangladesh from natural calamity.
“The tiger here is not just a design element, but a powerful symbol. We often refer to brave individuals as ‘tiger cubs.’ In that spirit, the players of our national football team have been likened to tiger cubs,” said Arny. Furthermore, through the use of green and a touch of red on a white background, Arny has attempted to echo the essence of our national flag, our national identity.
Additionally, the English typography of ‘Bangladesh’ has been creatively shaped into the map of the country — a feature also presents on the away jersey and retained here.
It’s important to note that sports apparel involves more than just visual design — comfort, function, and materials matter greatly. Moreover, the design of sportswear plays a role in team representation and broader national branding. While sports administrators in Bangladesh have often shown indifference in this regard, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has made some effort. Still, not all designs have met expectations. Against that backdrop, this recent initiative by the Bangladesh Football Federation seems promising and effective.