The recent unveiling of Uzbekistan’s national team kits for the 2026 World Cup has sparked an unexpected controversy in the sportswear industry, with local brand 7SABER facing allegations of design replication. Industry analysts note that the underlying base fabric of the newly released jerseys bears a striking, near-identical resemblance to a highly anticipated proprietary material developed by German sportswear giant Adidas.
Macro photography of the new white Uzbekistan home shirt reveals the technical details at the center of the dispute. Surrounding the heat-pressed 7SABER logo is a highly distinct, textured engineered knit featuring precise ventilation lines designed for elite breathability and moisture-wicking.
The pattern matches the new authentic fabric that Adidas introduced across its top-tier national team performance templates, leading many sportswear observers to conclude that the Uzbek brand may have directly utilized or mirrored the German manufacturer's technological blueprint.
While it is common for independent sportswear brands to source materials that mimic the aesthetic and functional properties of industry giants—similar to the widespread replication of Nike's Vaporknit and Aeroswift technologies—experts say the physical overlap in this instance is remarkably precise.
Neither 7SABER nor Adidas has issued an official statement regarding the fabric manufacturing process or potential supply-chain overlaps.
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