Are you familiar with Tromsø IL? Probably not, unless you’re really on the up and up when it comes to Norwegian soccer. It’s actually the northern-most soccer club in the world. But now its claim to fame can be that it’s the first club to create a jersey that functions as one big QR code.
QR codes on soccer jerseys aren’t totally new. We’ve been covering Forward Madison FC, which integrated a QR code on a special-edition jersey that lets fans buy each other beers from all over the world.
Tromsø’s jersey (which they call “kits” in soccer—which they call “football” in football) guides people to a page that educates people on human rights abuses in Qatar.
https://twitter.com/TromsoIL/status/1467783738729902081
Qatar is a hot-button issue in soccer right now, as the country is set to host the 2022 World Cup, and has been in the international spotlight for perceived “sportswashing,” i.e. using a popular event like the World Cup to launder its identity on the world stage.
You can do a lot with a QR code. It’s a pretty minimal imprint on an item, but leads to whatever the company or person wants, and you can change where it directs every day if you want to, creating a lasting and perpetually relevant imprint.
Also, as the guys from Forward Madison mentioned, sublimation makes just about anything possible on a soccer jersey (football kit), where sponsors are already commonplace.
With that in mind, other sports teams might realize the subtle power of the QR code, and integrate it into future designs. They might not be as overt as Tomsø, but you can place it just about anywhere you want.
