ROME, Apr 3: The jersey Italian players will wear during the World Cup in France will be the same shade of royal blue that made the shirt famous, reports AP.

"The less we change the traditional colour, the better." said the president of the Italian soccer federation, Gianfranco Niz-zola. as he presented the new jersey at a news conference Friday.

Italian players are nicknamed "gli azzurri" (the blues) after the colour of their jersey, which will make its official debut al the exhibition match Italy will play with Paraguay on April 22.

The jersey carries the logo of Nike which designed and produced it.