When Jefferson Osei was given the chance of designing this year’s Ghana national team kit, he had a clear vision: to unite the nation through a jersey that celebrates the vibrant and colourful cultural heritage that spoke to his own upbringing.
“I wanted to create a kit that every Ghanaian could be proud of and wear, no matter their tribe or background,” Osei says.
Osei’s Up-bringing
Now a successful fashion designer and co-owner of streetwear label Daily Paper, Osei spent much of childhood in both Amsterdam and Ghana where his identity was shaped by a rich tapestry of music, dance, and food.
“I’d say the music element in particular influenced me. I personally got inspired by superstars like Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur. They didn’t just introduce me to amazing music, but to style and fashion and the power of self-expression,” Osei reveals.
During long and arduous school days, Osei unknowingly sketched the path to his future: “It started more with drawing than designing,” he recalls. “Mainly out of boredom really, I would sketch sneakers, football cleats, and jerseys. I remember I used to love drawing a lot of the 90s Umbro Ajax tops and the gold Arsenal Sega jersey that they wore winning the league at Old Trafford in 2002.”
Daily Paper’s origins
What began as boredom-fuelled drawings in the back of a classroom soon evolved into a creative blog that laid the foundations for Daily Paper. Alongside Abderrahmane Trabsini and Hussein Suleiman, two childhood friends, Osei used the blog to cover local fashion, sport and music in Amsterdam.
“These were always our three pillars for content and from the very beginning, we knew we wanted to carry this core focus into the brand as well.”
Following the blog for four years, Daily paper was founded in 2012, a contemporary streetwear brand coming out of Amsterdam that proudly honours the founders’ African heritage.
“Abderrahmane is from Morocco, Hussein is from Somalia, and I’m from Ghana.
“We all come from different corners of Africa, each nation bringing its own unique traditions, aesthetics and flavour and we try to reflect that diversity in everything we create.
“Africa as a whole carries a vibrancy and energy that you’ll struggle to find anywhere else and we’re proud of this and embrace it fully.”
Daily paper has since grown into a global fashion label, trailblazing much of the premium streetwear scene, worn by the likes of Jay-Z and Michelle Obama.
For Osei, the goal was never just fashion, he aimed to make waves in football too.
“We simply grew up on football. I still play futsal in the highest league in the Netherlands. From street football to supporting Arsenal and Ajax, it’s always been a part of our upbringing and has been central to who we are.”
Ajax Collaboration
In 2022, Daily Paper partnered with Dutch giants Ajax and created some of the season’s most talked-about kits.
“Collaborating with Ajax was incredible, it’s obviously a massive club but it’s our home town so it just felt natural. Bringing together our cultural influences with Ajax’s rich history made it something truly special,” Osei Proudly reveals.
Their pre-match top, in particular, made headlines and epitomised what their brand is all about, featuring striking East African beadwork-inspired prints in the bold Pan-African colours of red, black, and green.
“We wanted to celebrate Amsterdam’s multiculturalism whilst reflecting the roots of our brand.”
Designing Ghana’s kit
The success of the Ajax collaboration elevated Daily Paper’s global platform but also opened the door for Osei to personally design this year’s Ghana national team kit.
“We’ve done several collaborations with Puma, and they reached out again for another lifestyle collection. But we felt like we’d already explored that direction, especially with our 2017 fictional football collection inspired by Puma’s 20-year relationship with African football.
“Our relationship with Puma is long-standing, from football tournaments in Ghana to supporting our events in Africa. They reached out again to see what was possible, and we saw an opportunity to work on something that was on our bucket list.
“Initially, the collaboration was set for Afcon 2025, with hopes to extend through to the 2026 World Cup. But with Puma going through budget cuts, we’re not sure if it will be extended to that point.”
Osei was clear in his vision: not just to design a beautiful kit, but to tell a story and leave a lasting impact.
“From an authentic perspective, it made complete sense as I could mirror what we’re doing at Daily Paper and that is to bridge the gap between people from their motherland and the people from the diaspora. Having one foot in the western society and having a cultural background and identity in Ghana.
“We made sure that the design was connecting and building a bridge between those two worlds and thus far the two worlds and demographics have responded very well to those jerseys.”
The design is inspired by Africa’s Gold Coast, Ghana’s former name, and honours Ghana’s diverse tribes: Ewe, Hausa, Asante, Fante, Dagbani, and Ga.
“I wanted to not just highlight one tribe but create a unity amongst all the tribes within Ghana. Having spent time around the national team, I knew there were often tribalism issues, when the Ghanaian team wouldn’t perform, the media would feed off of this and would create division amongst the different people of Ghana.
“Like in all countries, collective strength always prevails. The full yellow design was a nod to nostalgia, it represents the Gold Coast, the Ghanaian flag, and that message was fully approved by the Ghanaian FA.
“Initially, I wanted to go for a completely different colour but when dealing with a somewhat conservative audience, they’re not quite as progressive as you may think, it’s hard to make drastic changes. But I made sure I went further than just the bare minimum of a nice design, story-telling plays a huge factor in what we try to do and represent.”
African football
Much like football as a whole across the continent, this jersey tells a story of beauty found in chaos, vibrancy and energy.
Osei embraces the imperfect rhythm and character of African football.
“It’s certainly entertaining and I prefer it to western football. There’s always a certain amount of mistakes that makes games way more interesting and entertaining.
“When it comes to the celebration of culture and identity it’s way more authentic, it all feels deeply rooted and real with a raw energy.”
Osei doesn’t view his design as just a kit; to him it’s a streetwear piece that epitomises the merging of football and fashion industries, which in his eyes are only growing closer and closer together.
“It’s only natural, wearing football attire these days is based on a certain lifestyle, these jerseys are becoming more and more wearable for your daily life, it’s not so performance driven these days.
“They’ve always crossed over but the football industry is very conservative still, there’s just a few clubs that are pushing that narrative on a global scale and all the others clubs are following.
“However, a lot more clubs are starting to see the potential benefits in terms of revenue and marketing reach that it can bring.”
A look to the future
Osei believes that Daily Paper is only getting started and has clear ambitions to leave a deeper imprint on football fashion.
“The company definitely wants to pursue more future collaborations with clubs, the commercial nature of these projects gives us far more creative freedom in design.
“As someone who grew up idolising both Ajax and Arsenal, creating a kit for Arsenal would be a dream come true, being able to say I’ve created something impactful for both my teams would be truly amazing.”
For more articles about kit collaborations read here: Pompeii’s Cosme Bergareche on brand roots and Racing collab.