Ancient Armor Provides Inspiration for Tunisia’s New World Cup Kits

The Tunisian national football team is hoping the likeness of an ancient piece of armor on their kits will inspire their players to fight like warriors at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

The Fédération Tunisienne de Football (FTF) and manufacturer Kappa unveiled the new national team kits on Thursday, September 29 — curiously after the team's final warmup matches against the Comoros and Brazil.

Both the home and the away kits feature a tonal graphic on the front depicting the Ksour Essef cuirass, an ancient piece of armor that was discovered in Tunisia in 1909 and has been dated to the 3rd century BC. Now kept in the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, it's been speculated that this breastplate may have been used between 211 and 203 BC in the expeditions of the Second Punic War led by Carthaginian general Hannibal.

Tunisia's home kit is predominantly red, with the tonal graphic covering the front. The raglan sleeves, back and side panels are all solid red. Striping along the sleeve cuffs and hem is white. Kappa logos appear in white on the sleeves and chest.

The away kit swaps the positions of the red and white from the home kit. It too features the tonal graphic of the Ksour Essef cuirass on the front.

Both kits also feature a small Tunisian flag on the back of the collar and a full-colour FTF crest on the left chest.

The red home kit is paired with predominantly red shorts and red socks with white cuffs. The white away kit is paired with predominantly white shorts and white socks with red cuffs.

Tunisia's third kit also features the cuirass graphic, this time on a green base. The green colour represents olive oil, one of the country's most important exports. The kit has gold trim around the sleeve cuffs and the hem. The Kappa logos and the FTF crest appear in monochromatic gold.

Tunisia is the only nation Kappa is outfitting at the World Cup.

Tunisia are in Group D at the World Cup, along with France, Australia and Denmark. Their first match is on Tuesday, November 22, against Denmark at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.