Ditching white shorts is striking but periods’ link to injury is bigger issue

England players, wearing their new blue shorts, look on during the penalty shootout against Brazil at Wembley on Thursday. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Until very recently female footballers rarely talked about periods in public. Most fans were unaware that some leading internationals detested playing in white shorts during menstruation.

“I’ve experienced it as an England player and you just sort of got on with it,” said the former Lionesses defender Anita Asante, who retired from playing last spring and is now Bristol City’s first-team coach. “It wasn’t something that was discussed and it wasn’t something you felt you could change.”