By Official Florida FC
Long before Central Florida became one of the country’s soccer hubs, the region was known for being at the heart of the American space industry.
Wednesday, the Orlando Pride connected the two. The club launched its Ad Astra kit, which will be its primary jersey for the 2021 and 2022 NWSL seasons.
“While this jersey itself is special, all that it represents is truly extraordinary, inspired by our very own Space Coast and some of history’s iconic women. As a Club that strives to break barriers each and everyday, we are proud to celebrate the women, both on our Orlando Pride squad and beyond, who do the same,” Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride CEO Alex Leitão said in a statement.
“Thanks to the dedication of our team and support of our partners at Orlando Health, we are thrilled to really ‘shoot for the stars’ in our unveil of this kit and to continue investing in the women’s game, including the launch of this jersey. We hope our fans love it as much as we do.”
The kit is black and purple. The black is scattered with stars to honor women in STEM fields. The kit also celebrates the Project Mercury program that sent American into space from nearby Cape Canaveral during the 1960s.
To this day, the area code for neighboring Brevard County is 321 in homage of the region’s history with space. Pride goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris is from Satellite Beach and was one of the members of the team who helped unveil the new kit.
