‘I Prefer The Original’: Rishi Sunak Weighs In On Nike’s ‘Playful Update’ To St. George Cross On England Football Kit

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak weighed in on the ongoing debate around the decision to redesign the iconic St George’s Cross on the new England football shirt, saying “we shouldn’t mess with” national symbols.

The new football kit, launched on Thursday, features what sportswear company Nike, the kit’s designer, called a “playful update” to the St. George’s Cross typically located on the back of the neckline. The red cross with the white background has been replaced with a modification that introduces purple and blue stripes, which is reportedly inspired by the training kit of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team.

The move sparked controversy and debate, first among the public and now among politicians. An online petition demanding the return to the original flag has amassed thousands of signatures.

Asked by reporters on Friday about the change, Sunak, too, admitted he was not a fan.

A reporter in the press pool asked: “Would you like to see Nike change the design of its New England shirt featuring different colours in the cross of St George?”

Sunak replied: “Obviously I prefer the original and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags we shouldn’t mess with them because they’re a source of pride, identity, who we are and they’re perfect as they are.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry echoed the sentiment, with Thornberry questioning the rationale behind altering symbols of unity like the national flag, likening it to absurdly changing the heraldic Welsh dragon to “a pussycat” or adding “bits of purple in the French tricolour.”