American Football Worldwide - Vanuatu

[sc49erfan15]

Raise your hand if you've heard of Vanuatu! ...yep, thought so.

Previously in American Football Worldwide:

• Uzbekistan
  
• Qatar
  
• San Marino
  
• Moldova
  
• Tanzania
  
• Mongolia
  
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
  
• Haiti
  
• Comoros
  
• Croatia
  
• Honduras
  

The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation in the South Pacific, west of Fiji, northeast of Australia and north of New Zealand. Vanuatu, known for centuries as the New Hebrides, was colonized by both the British and French, under a unique system of government in which the islands were essentially co-ruled by both powers. Independence was won in 1980, the 1990s were characterized by political instability, which has since subsided. Today, Vanuatu is dependent on agriculture, tourism, and is also recognized as a tax haven. Vanuatu is ranked 124th of 186 on the Human Development Index, signifying "medium" human development and significant political freedom.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Vanuatu. The Vanuatu national team has never qualified for the World Cup and is ranked 172nd of 207 globally by FIFA. Vanuatu made its Olympic debut in 1988 Seoul, and has sent a total of 25 athletes to every Summer Games since then, but no Ni-Vanuatu has ever won an Olympic medal. American football has little chance of ever catching on in a remote Pacific island chain with a population of just under 250,000, but if it did...

The sporting colors of Vanuatu seem to be black and yellow (at least from the 2 sports I could find - soccer and basketball) so I went with it. The color scheme would be rather unique on the international scale as well, save for maybe Germany. The emblem on the flag is a boar's tusk encircling crossed leaves of a native fern. The boar's tusk is a symbol of wealth and prosperity worn as a pendant in Vanuatu. Clearly the helmet design is borrowed, but I think it works well. Thoughts?

[thespleenenator]

*Raises hand*

I used to read atlases as a kid

Anyway, I LOVE this concept, especially how you used the symbol on their flag and turned it into a rams like design.

Also, I would suggest putting all of these concepts into one thread. I think you'll get more feedback that way.

[pianoknight]

I've heard of Vanuatu, mostly from the season of Survivor that they filmed there.

Nice concept, the colors are simple without just diverting to a classic Steelers/Iowa look.

[-kj]

Opportunity so missed.

[marble21]

I know you have incorporated several elements from the Vanuatan life, like the horn, the leaves etc. but when you create a uniform for such a small country and do not simply copy the flag I think the concept would benefit from placing the word Vanuatu somewhere on the uniform.

I would also like to see different socks for the away uniform, so that the black pants do not blend into the black top of the socks.

All in all though, great work.

[fumbler]

Rugby League -

.

Rugby Union -

Similar to Penrith Panters in the NRL.

AFL -

[sc49erfan15]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'd forgotten they did a Survivor in Vanuatu.

I'd seen those AFL and soccer shirts, but really liked the looks shown below, and went with a simple black/yellow scheme due to its simplicity, uniqueness, and the fact that every other African country is going to be red/green/black/yellow.

That said, I like the idea of putting the country name on the front (although I've done that a lot, it does make sense for a small, obscure country) and somehow missed changing the away/clash sock color to yellow. Also added a V on the pants because they were looking too plain, even in this minimalist-ish concept.

Also, I do believe I'll create a single thread for all these - I was hesitant to at first because I wasn't sure how often I'd be updating the series. Since I've got a few more concepts done and see myself for even more down the road, I'll start a master thread with links to all these and add the new ones there.

[fumbler]

I like the kit you have designed.

I love yellow and black