Nike have released the new designs for the 2010 World Cup kits for the shirt that they will be manufacturing. Nike now manufacture for 9 countries participating at the games Brazil, USA, Holland, South Korea, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, Serbia and Australia.

We have yet to see how popular the new designs will be with the fans but Nike are expected to have some of teh biggest World Cup shirt sales during the summer tournament.

Nike have made a few improvements to the design of their new shirts with a new improved Nike Dri-Fit fabric that is 15% lighter than previously which will help keep the player drier. There have also been ventilation panels put into the shirts and shorts to help increase airflow.

One of the major innovations that Nike have made with regards the shirt is that they have been made entirely from recycled polyester with each shirt having taken up to eight platsic bottles to make.

“This summer in South Africa Nike will give footballers an edge by providing the newest and most innovative product for the game’s greatest players,” said Charlie Denson, President, Nike Brand. “With today’s announcement, we are equipping athletes with newly designed uniforms that not only look great and deliver performance benefits, but are also made with recycled materials, creating less impact on our environment.”

For the new Nike World Cup Shirts they used nearly 13 million plastic bottles that would have been heading to landfill so Nike has made a huge impact already on the environmental front, could this be the way that we start to see all manufacturers of football shirts go? Or do you think this is just a one off move by Nike to try and gain some extra press with their shirt launch? Let us know what you think of the new Nike football shirts and their manufacturing process in the comments box below.