Dear Editor,

The uproar over the 2026 Adidas Reggae Boyz kit and its inclusion of red is a curious irony. Critics online argue that the design strays from the black, green, and gold of our national flag. Yet the very name of the team, Reggae Boyz, is rooted in a musical movement that carried red, gold, and green to every corner of the world.

For decades Jamaica has benefited from the cultural dividends of Bob Marley’s legacy. The Rasta aesthetic has helped market our music, tourism, and the wider Brand Jamaica identity. We proudly celebrate Bob Marley as our greatest global ambassador when accolades are being handed out, yet the moment that same cultural influence appears woven into a football jersey, some suddenly see an identity crisis.

You cannot call a team the Reggae Boyz and then be offended when they actually look like reggae.

Red was never Bob Marley’s private trademark. It is part of the wider pan-African palette that has long defined the spirit and symbolism of reggae culture, the very culture that gave the team its name.

National identity is not frozen in time, it is a living expression of who we are and what we have contributed to the world. Jamaica’s influence is not limited to the colour scheme of a 1962 flag; it also lives in the music that made our small island globally recognisable.

If we are proud to be the Land of Reggae when the bassline is shaking stadium speakers abroad, we should not recoil when those colours appear on the pitch at home. The new kit does not dilute Jamaica’s identity; it reflects the cultural force that helped put us on the map. After all, as reggae artiste Tony Rebel once declared: “A nuh political act…a reggae put Jamaica pon top.”

As a final note, from what I have been seeing, I have every confidence in head coach Rudolph Speid to bring out the best in the Reggae Boyz when they face New Caledonia later this month.

Clifton Martin

St Ann, Jamaica

itnopretty@yahoo.co.uk

Jamaica’s 2026 Bob Marley-inspired away jersey Photo: adidas.com