Lining up in black shorts instead of white shorts addresses an issue that has and will continue to plague female players: their period.
Menstruation can cause stress and worry to female athletes, which is unnecessarily heightened due to wearing white shorts. Women have to deal with cramping and exhaustion, but on top of that, they also have the added worry of white shorts making period leaking even more visible.
Consequently, the Danes have been allowed by the International Handball Federation to line up in black shorts against the Croats, much to the relief of the Danish women: "We usually play in white shorts. All women know that there are some challenges when you have your period. It's great that you don't have to play with the uncertainty of whether you'll bleed through or not", says Danish profile Kristina Jorgensen to TV 2 Sport.
The purpose of the request to line up in black shorts is, at the same time, a message to young girls that it is okay to talk about menstruation – even though it may well be taboo.
"Of course, I don't think it should be taboo to talk about menstruation and to have menstruation at all. It is a completely natural thing. We don't mind talking about menstruation and being pioneering women because we'd rather play in the dark than white shorts", says Danish captain Trine Ostergaard.