Author: Gavin Hope

Kit Geek Creator, 1/3 of Football Kit Podcast

Walsall FC – Kit “Mash Up” Kings

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One of my favourite “Kit Anecdotes” of the 2021 / 22 Season is from League Two’s Walsall FC, I want to take some time and have a deeper look at the kits worn this season. I published this tweet a few weeks ago….

The Saddlers used TEN different Kit variations in the League but unlike some teams who achieved the same feat with bespoke elements of the each of the Home, Away and 3rd Kits, Walsall completed this with just the following:

  • Three Shirts – Green, White, Red
  • Three pairs of Shorts – Green, White, Red
  • Three pairs of Socks – Green, White, Red

Although green is newer colour choice for the club, the use of the three colours in all shirts of the kit set has given the club a consistent overall feel and using these elements in different combinations gave the team the different looks but remained in the colour pallette that the club chose for the season, whatever the look it felt like Walsall FC.

Taking a closer look at the Kits used in League Two…..

Home Kits:

The default Home Kit – Red / White / Green, this was worn 24 times in total… 22 (out of 23) Home games and away at both Carlisle United and Mansfield Town.

Red / Red / Green – This combination was worn three times, against Hartlepool United twice, home (the only other variation worn at home) and away, also at Bristol Rovers.

All Red – Worn once at Rochdale.

Away Kits

The default Away look – Green / Green / Red. This was worn six times in total, the most worn change kit by the club, worn at AFC Barrow, Bradford City, Oldham Athletic, Port Vale, Sutton United and Tranmere Rovers.

Green / Green / White – worn in three games, at Exeter City, Stevenage and Swindon Town.

All Green, only worn once at Crawley Town.

3rd Kits

The default look for Walsall’s 3rd kit was White / Red / White, this was worn on four occasions at Forest Green Rovers, Harrogate Town, Northampton Town and Scunthorpe United.

White / Green / White – worn twice at games against, Leyton Orient and Newport County.

White / Red / Red – only worn once at Salford City.

White / Red / Green – again only worn once at Colchester United, the 10th and final variation used.

There we have it, one of my favourite Kit details of the season and shows the importance of a good Kit Set, using all three kits as one set and creating some wonderful looks along the way, thank you Walsall FC and Errea!

Let me know you thoughts about this at @kit_geek or in the comments below.

EFL, League One 21/22 – End of Season Report

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The 2021/22 League One Season came to a close on Saturday 30th April 2022, with Wigan Athletic securing the title on the final day of the season, with Rotherham United securing Runner’s Up spot and therefore gaining Automatic promotion to The Championship. MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 94 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 44% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 17 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 36% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 10 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 19% of variations worn
    • 14 3rd Kits worn
    • 4 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kit – 1% of variations worn
    • 1 Special Kit worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams

  • 3 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Cheltenham Town – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Portsmouth – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
  • 4 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Ipswich Town – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Morecambe – Home x2, Away x3
    • Oxford United – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Sheffield Wednesday – Home x3, Away x2
  • 5 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Cambridge United – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Charlton Athletic – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Doncaster Rovers – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Shrewsbury Town – Home x2, Away x2
    • Wycombe Wanderers – Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits worn by 2 teams
    • Cheltenham Town, Black shorts / Red socks – Black shorts / White socks – White shorts / Red socks
    • Sheffield Wednesday, Black shorts & socks – White shorts & socks – Black shorts / white socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Moreambe, All Black – Black shirt, White shorts, Black socks – Black shirt, white shorts & socks
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits worn by 3 teams
    • Accrington Stanley
    • Ipswich Town
    • Portsmouth
  • 12 Teams wore 3 Kit Variations
  • 9 Teams only used Home and Away kits (no 3rd Kits), all used at least one kit variation of these two kits
  • 7 Teams wore kits with no varitations, just home, away and 3rd kits
    • Wycombe Wanderers wore 4 different kits with no variations
    • AFC Wimbledon, Lincoln City, MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle, Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Gillingham (Most worn for 2nd season in a row)
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Plymouth Argyle
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Lincoln City and Oxford United

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2021/22 League One teams wore 94 Kits, this was a reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 98 Kits were worn. There were 9 teams that wore just home and away kits which was the most in the English Top Four Divisions, however each of these team wore at least one kit variation which gives us some different looks through out the season.

Wycombe Wanderers wore a special kit in their against Plymouth Argyle on 15th April 2022, the kit was in the colours of Ukraine and were auctioned off after the game to raise money for charties supporting those impacted by the situation.

There were some teams that wore change kits at home for a various reasons, some took part in The Shelter “No Home Kit” campaign, wearing change kits at home to highlight those people are homeless and raise money for the charity and other to offer support to Ukraine.

Bolton Wanderers in away kit at home to Morecambe

Doncaster Rovers in 3rd Kit at home to Wigan Athletic

Sunderland at home to Crewe Alexander in their away kit

Wycombe Wanderers wore four different kits through out the season and between 2nd April and 15th April wore these four kits in four games in 13 days.

Ipswich Town wore their home kit for their first 13 games of the season, it was only in their 13th game where they deviated from their first choice home kit, wearing all blue against Portsmouth, the went on to use five different kit variations. Ipswich Town also doned all blue in their game against Lincoln City, who wore their yellow 3rd kit in supprt of the People of Ukraine

Plymouth Argyle used change kits in 18 of their 23 away games, wearing their away kit 16 time which is the most of any team in The League, this may be surprising as they are the only team with a green home kit in the league but given there are 10 teams with elements of red in the home kit, this supports those colourblind supporters and viewers.

There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2021/22, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – End of Season Report

Championship – End of Season Report

League Two – End of Season Report

The Heat Press – Issue 16

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Time for Issue Number 16 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 15 click here

The Headlines

  • 2022 / 23 Kit Launches
  • RKC Waalwijk Charity Kit
  • Manchester United x Adidas – 1990 / 92
  • FC Barcelona Kit Mash up

2022 / 23 Kit Launches

It is that time of the year when the Kit Launches have begun, now I am sure that will not be able to keep up with them all over the coming months but let’s give it a go with this week’s launches…

Liverpool (Home) – Liverpool, a team who traditional launch their home kit around this time of the season, normally debuting their new Home kit in their last home game, although not confirmed I expect to see that happen against in final game against Wolverhampton Wanderers…

The Nike kit sees a return to plain red, although there is nice detail in the shirt and the cuff are one of favourite part of the shirt. Also this is the first look at the Nike Goalkeeper Template for next season, Liverpool opting for the “Lilac” version of the kit…

Walsall (Home, Away, 3rd) – Walsall, who produce one of my favourite kit sets of 2021 / 22 season, which allowed 10 Kit variations to be used as the kits were designed to be whole kit set (a very happy Kit Geek Here) have launched their range of kits for next season already, again produced by Errea see the home kit being in all red, with no confirmation of the full look for away and 3rd kits but I would expect all white and all black, again giving us potential mash up options.

Barrow AFC (Home / Away) – Barrow AFC are the first team to release new kits from a new kit supplier, moving from Joma to Puma. Both shirts are an interesting look, with the home in particular something new using two shades of blue and white to create the look, the away being a black with a star like / paint splatter pattern (depending on your view).

Bayern Munich (Home) – One of Adidas flagship teams Bayern Munich have launched their home kit, a team that often mix up their look at home, will next season go for a shirt that includes white horizontal stripes, which are of various thickness..

RKC Waalwijk Charity Shirt

RKC Waalwijk played in special shirts their match against FC Groningen.

The shirts were designed by a 10 year old fan and were auctioned, the proceeds will go to Villa Pardoes, a charity that suports ill children and their families with holidays. Quite possibly the first shirt to include a snail in its design….

Manchester United x Adidas (1990 / 92)

It was confirmed this week that Adidas will be re-issuing their home shirt and goalkeeper shirt from 1990 to 1992, the designs look faithful to their originals and will be part of the Adidas Original range, the Goalkeeper shirt is a real highlight for me, not often we see these shirts reproduced.

FC Barcelona – Kit Mash Up

Although not their first team, FC Barcelona “B Team” wore a mash up of their current away kit with home shorts, for an interesting and likely a one off look…!

And Finally….

What’s happening in the Kit Community.

I like to end each issue with some of the “going on’s” within the Kit Community.

The latest Football Kit Podcast is now out, Episode 10 see Les, Denis and I return to discussion about Templates, each nominating a “Template of Doom” and “Template of Worship”, you can find the episode here or Download from your Podcast App of choice and remember to subscribe, like and give your feedback!

I was lucky enough to be give a very limited edition shirt this week, to celebrate the launch of his book “Kit and Caboodle”, Matt Riley has designed and got produced a limited number shirts. There is a competition to win one of these shirts, where you need to guess the attendance of Exeter City’s game against Port Vale on 7th May, so be quick and get your guesses in!

The book can be pre-order now here

On Thursday 5th May, there was an evening dedicated to all things Football Shirt Design, with our friends at Spark Academy along with Subside Sports and The Anfield Wrap. Although the event has now passed, there are some great videos and chat from members of the Kit Community to check out on the Subside Sport Timeline, with another friend of ours Chris Chats Shirts making some wonderful videos so those of us that could not attend the event still get a feel of the goings on and feel part of this great event.

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

The Heat Press – Issue 15

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Time for Issue Number 15 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 14 click here

The Headlines

  • Hummel in EFL
  • Chelsea – FA Cup Final
  • Tottenham Hotspur – Sponsor
  • Shrewsbury Town – Retro Shirt
  • Denmark – Another Retro Shirt

Hummel in EFL

Hummel have made big waves in the English Leagues over the last couple of season, providing bespoke kits for 11 teams this season have in the last week added two more clubs to their portfolio for 2022 / 23.

AFC Wimbledon, see Hummel return as kit manufacturer after first supplying kits in 1988… will we see a nod to those kits between 1988 and 1992?

Millwall, as a Millwall support this is big news for me with one the world’s best kit manufacturers supplying the South Londoners. I have written a more detailed article about this which you can find here

Chelsea – FA Cup Final

Chelsea will play Liverpool in 2022 FA Cup Final on Saturday 14th May at Wembley Stadium, Chelsea are the designated home team and have elected to wear all yellow against Merseysiders in an unusal kit match up between the two teams.

Chelsea wore all yellow in their Semi-Final victory against Crystal Palace but may be seen as a controversial choice for the Final.

Tottenham Hotspur – Sponsor

Tottenham Hotspur will take to the field in their home game against Leicester City on Sunday 1st May 2022 in a one off sponsor. The sponsor highlights the launch of launch of Grant A Wish with “AIA Better Lives Fund” – a charity shirt initiative raising funds for good causes in Singapore and for the Tottenham Hotspur foundation

Shrewsbury Town – Retro Shirt

The Shreswbury Town / Umbro combination has been an enjoyable partnership this season with two great kits on show in League One, however this has taken a step up with the release of a Retro Inspired Shirt this week.

The shirt is a copy of the 1977 / 78 shirt and is only available in long sleeve is sure to be a hit with fans not just of The Shrews but Kit Lovers too, a great look and is this the start of more retro inspired goodies from the Umbro locker???

The can be purchased directly from Shrewsbury Town here

Denmark – Another Retro Shirt

Another Retro inspired shirt has been released this week, with Hummel launching this 1983 remake of the Denmark Home shirt, which is the same as the shirt worn in the victory against England at Wembley as part of their qualification to Euro 84… part of the marketing is about Denmark in the 80s, does this pave the way for a kit inspired by the 1986 kits for the 2022 World Cup

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I like to end each issue with some of the “going ons” within the Kit Community.

As mentioned in last week’s Heat Press, The @thekitfactor was running a knock out competition on the concept kits they designed for all English Clubs. The final was between Sunderland and Swindon Town, this Sunderland winning the final vote by a narrow margain, claiming 52.4% of the 2000 votes.

A Twitter account that I have recently found is @X_Stitch_Shirts (Cross Stitch Shirts), who makes Cross Stitch version of Shirts, check them out and some of their designs…

Another great thread on Twitter this week was from @SustainableArch who went into detail about some of the Adidas Templates over the years, looking at nearly 30 different templates since 2004 both outfield and goalkeeper kits, lots of shirts to enjoy (majority are Olympique de Marseille).

The full thread can be found here

Our friends at Talking Kit have launched a new YouTube show, called “#GetToKnow”… in the first show, they talked kit (along with @niclassicshirt) with @elclasicokits and @CornishShirt

The show can be found here

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

Millwall x Hummel

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As many you of you know I am Millwall supporter and have been over 30 years now, when it comes to posting and writing articles I always look to remain neutral and do not tend to focus on my own club, however for one post I need to make an exception and here’s why….

Today (Wednesday 20th April 2022), Millwall announced a new Kit Partnership with Hummel and honestly this makes me feel like I am 10 years old again…. in fact, the closest feeling to this is when Millwall first had their kits produced by ASICS, which at the time I found amazing that we had the same kit manufacturer as two of the biggest clubs at the time, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers (1994)

Looking at my years of supporting the club the Kits have been produced by likes of Spall, Errea, Bukta, Macron and even a brand owned by then club owner Theo Paphitis (Strikeforce), so the thought of my club having what I would view as a World Class Kit Manufacturer really makes this Millwall Supporting Kit Geek excited.

Over the past few seasons in Macron’s second spell with the club have really delivered some wonderful kits, very much taken their influence from kits from late 80s, early 90s and I thank them for this, so there are decent size “shoes” to fill but given some of kits designed and produced over the past few seasons for clubs in English Football I cannot wait to see what this iconic brand have in store for my club.

The deal is a long-term deal for the next five years, starting from 2022 / 23 season and will provide “Bespoke” kits for the club’s teams and coaching staff, as well as taking control of Club Shop and online retail, this is a huge step for the club.

The full statement can be found here

In the meantime, here is a Concept Kit design created by a “Friend of Kit Geek” @KonceptKitz just to give you an idea of what Millwall x Hummel kit could look like!

Let me know your thoughts, especially you Millwall fans out there!

Thank you for indulging me in this little love in… normal service will resume.

The Heat Press – Issue 14

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Time for Issue Number 14 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 13 click here

The Headlines

  • Juventus – 4th Shirt
  • Wycombe Wanderers – Special Kit
  • Lincoln City – Fan Desinged Shirt
  • Red Star FC – Kit Design Competition

Juventus 4th Shirt

Juventus are the next Serie A team to release a 4th Kit for the 2021 / 22 Season. The shirt for “The Old Lady” is designed in collaboration with Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra, famous for street art and murals. This shirt provides an interesting use of colour and shapes to give a very unique look and was worn with white shorts and socks in their game against Bologna .

Wycombe Wanderers – Special Kit

Wycombe Wanderers took to the field in their League One game agaisnt Plymouth Argyle on Friday 15th April in a Special Kit, which was named “A Kit for Ukraine” and join a number of teams who worn Blue / Yellow combinations in the recent weeks. The Kit produced by Oneils is the same template as the club’s current home and 3rd kits in the colours of Ukraine and was available for auction to raise funds for charities linked to supporting those impacted by the current situation.

Full details can be found here

Lincoln City fan designed shirt

A club close to my heart, Lincoln City have released a limited addition Fan Designed shirt pays tribute to the area’s proud RAF history, the iconic cathedral and features the colours of the Lincolnshire flag and is part of the #MyCityMyShirt campaign.

The shirt will be available an in-store event from 2.30pm on Thursday 21st April, with a number of players attending the event.

Full details can be found here

Red Star FC Kit Design Competition

Another team that is opening up their Kit Design to fans is historic French team Red Star FC. In collobroation with Fiverr, the competition is to celebrate the club’s 125th Anniversary. Designs need to be submitted by 30th April 2022.

All details and how to enter can be found here

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I like to end each issue with some of the “going ons” within the Kit Community.

The latest Football Kit Podcast is now out, which sees Les, Denis and I discuss Goalkeeper Kits. Following our usual format of something we like (It’s a Keeper) and something we do not like (Not in Glove)… check out the Pod here or check out my site for links to the Podcast.

No spoilers but here are some hints at topics I discuss…

Our Friends at Football Shirts for Charity are kicking off another wonderful initiative where you can Run, walk, swim or cycle 5k… with a football shirt, nominate your team and score points for the league table. The league runs from April 8 to June 26.

All details can be found here

It’s that time of year again where the duo behind The Shirt Union start pulling together where the best deals to get this season shirts, make sure you follow them for more updates to get that deal before the end of the season.

Another thing to keep an eye out on is what @thekitfactor is doing this week, after designing concept kits for all 92 English League Clubs, there is now a knock out competition for the kits designed… the first round is now complete but make sure you check the remaining rounds and of course all the Home, Away and 3rd Kit Concepts they created over the last few months.

And finally, please check out Matt Riley on Twitter, Matt has a book coming out later this year that looks kits and their impact on football…

“Kits tell us more about our club, ourselves and the beautiful game’s custodians than we often realise. From the colours, crests, designs and prices we can learn so much about what makes the game – and us – tick. Kit and Caboodle searches out the stories that our shirts tell us about the teams we support and the society we live in”

More details about the book and how to pre-order can be found here

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

The Heat Press – Issue 13

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Time for Issue Number 13 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 12 click here

The Headlines

  • AC Milan 4th Kit
  • Fiorentina Kit Design Competition
  • Maradona’s “Hand of God” shirt
  • Plymouth Argyle – Ginsters

AC Milan 4th Kit

AC Milan have released their 4th Kit for the 2021 / 22 Season, this kit is part of a larger collaboration with Italian fashion brand “NEMEN”, the Kit was designed by Leonardo Fasolo, Founder and Creative Director of NEMEN and lifelong AC Milan fan.

The kit has been given mixed reviews from fans and those in the Kit Community however this gives a unique look to the Rossonere and is getting people talking about kits, which in kit design is something I can get behind. The kit has been worn by both Women’s and Men’s team this weekend in likely its only appearences on the field.

Fiorentina Kit Design Competition

Staying in Italy, Fiorentina and Kappa are given people the chance to design the 4th Kit for next season, there are some guidelines that must be adhered to in the designs:

  • Primary colors cannot be purple or green.
  • You can also use more than 3 colours as long as one is dominant.
  • You can propose a circled, striped, banded or checked design… but there must always be a dominant color.
  • You cannot replicate the Fiorentina logo or its elements (for example you cannot use the lily, the V of Viola, the name “ACF Fiorentina”).
  • You cannot modify or move the Fiorentina logo, the Kappa logo or the Mediacom logo.
  • You cannot change the shape of the shirt (collar, sleeves … the structure must remain as it is).

So for you Kit Concept Designers out there your designs need to be submitted by 17th April 2022, full details can be found here

Maradona’s “Hand of God” shirt

It has been reported in The Guardian that the shirt worn by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup Quarter Final against England, famously worn scoring two of the most memorible goals in World Cup History is being put up for sale.

The shirt was in the ownership of Steve Hodge (Pictured below) who swapped shirts with Argentinian Legend after the game and has been on display at the National Football Museum of the recent years will go sale at Sotherby’s Auctioneers and estimate to sell for £4m.

Full details on the story can be found here

Plymouth Argyle – Ginsters

One of the most famous sponsorship partnerships in English Football is coming to an end. Plymouth Argyle and local savoury snack maker Ginsters have been in partnership since 2002, so at the end of this season their 20 year association will be coming to an end with League One club sporting a new sponsor for the 2022/23 season… will Pymouth shirts ever look the same again!

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I like to end each issue with some of the “going ons” within the Kit Community.

Firstly our Friends at Football Shirts for Charity have released some new Charity shirts for 2022, following up from their wonderful shirts from 2021, they are producing three shirts each with a different colour details and you can include a name and number for no additional charge.

I have ordered mine, to go with my white shirt of theirs last season… its the blue one this year for me and cannot wait to add it to my collection.

Check out their site and place your order here

As you will know I am a lover of “Kit Logs”, maintaining a record of the kits worn by teams through out a competion or season, there have been a couple of examples that I have seen in the last week that I want to call out and share here…

PABLO has created this fantastic illistration of Spainish Segunda División B Hércules CF kits worn this season.

Paint Kits produced this amazing graphic looking at the teams from South America in the CONMEBOL 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, with what teams wore what kit through out the qualification process… as a Kit Geek, I love it!

There has been a few updates to my site over the past week, I have now included a section where I will keep the Kit Grids from the 2021 / 22 season in one place, the Premier League has been added with EFL Leagues to be added over the coming days (example below, Premier League up to 5th April 2022).

The page can be found at the top of my site,

I have also now included a “Friends of Kit Geek” section as well, where you can find other Football Kit Related pages that may interest you, if you want to see your site here please let me know and I will add it the list.

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

FA Cup – Quarter Finals, Kit Review

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The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, first kicked off 150 years ago in November 1871 has now completed the 5th Round of the 2021/22 season.

Details from Round 5 can be found here – FA Cup – Fifth Round, Kit Review

The Quarter Finals of the competition was held on 19th March and 20th March, with all games televised. The round consisted of 8 teams, 6 Premier League Teams and 2 Championship Teams.

No replays from now on in the competition, so all ties were concluded in these games by Extra Time / Penalities if needed.

Quarter Final Kit Log

Manufacturers

Only four manufacturers left in the competition at this round, it was the first time this season that Puma did not supply the most kits, that honour fell to Hummel with three teams out of the eight left and Macron the only supplier to provide just one team with their kit.

Kit Highlights

As there was only four games, let take each match…

Middlesbrough v Chelsea

Middlebrough in their kit for 3rd time (4 games), Chelsea have worn their home kit in all games so far.

Crystal Palace v Everton

Crystal Palace another team that have been in their home kit for 3 games, the only time not in their home colours they used their 3rd Kit, which has yet to be used in the Premier League in their 3rd Round tie at Local Rivals Millwall. Everton were in a change kit for the first time in the competition this season.

Southampton v Manchester City

Southampton have worn 3 kits in their 4 games, including a special one off white shirt in Round 4, this was their 2nd appearance in their home kit. Manchester City have used their Home, Away and 3rd kits before this game, so taking to the field in their 3rd kit was also the 2nd appearance of the kit.

Nottingham Forest v Liverpool

Nottingham Forest who have played all their games at City Ground, so have worn their home kit in all their 4 games. Liverpool where in their first away game, so took to the field in a change kit for the first time in the competition this season.

Let me know your favourite kits from the FA Cup Quarter Finals at either the comments section below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

The Heat Press – Issue 12

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Time for Issue Number 12 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 11 click here

The Headlines

  • Real Madrid – 120th Anniversary Kit
  • Canada Premier League Kit Launch
  • Denmark
  • Colchester United – Special Kit
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle – 2022/23 Kit Launch

Real Madrid – 120th Anniversary Kit

Real Madrid have released a special kit to celebrate their 120th Anniversary, the kit which was designed in collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto under the Y-3 Brand. The all black kit is one for collectors with the price of the shirt alone being £160 / €180 and if you wanted to pick the whole kit up it will cost over £300.

The kit was worn last weekend in “El-Clásico” against rivals FC Barcelona, who themselves wore their “Senyera” kit which is in it’s 4th calendar year of use, this gave us one of the world’s classic derby matches a very unique look…

Canada Premier League

The was a large kit launch across the Atlantic last week with the launch of the Primary Kits for the Canadian Premier League. All kits are produced by Macron and they have delivered some great looks for the eight teams in the competition…

My favourite looks are…

FC Valour

And York United

The “Secondary” kits are launched over the next week, ready for the League to kick off in the first week of April, so we will take a look at those kits in the coming weeks but interested to see what they produce in follow up to the “Primary” kits.

Denmark – Special Edition Kit

Hummel have teamed up with fashion brand “BLS Hafina” to produce a special kit for the Denmark’s national team, this kit is to pay tribute to a new generation and will be worn on 29th March 2022 in their friendly against Serbia.

Check out Hummel‘s tweet about the kit below….

Colchester United – Special Kit

On Monday 21st March, Colchester United took to the field in their League Two game against Forest Green Rovers in a special kit to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The team wearing the yellow and blue kit, as will has ticket proceeds and other fund raising raised over £65,000 for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, via the British Red Cross.

Full details can be found here

Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Kit Launch

One of the first kit launches of the 2022 / 23 season has now happened, with Inverness Caledonian Thistle have launched their home kit for next season, which the club are stating…

“Inspired by the fans who follow the Caley Jags both at home and on our travels, our “Inverness is Wonderful” song” with the words “Inverness is Wonderful” wovern into the shirt.

More details can be found here but the team are currently in the playoff positions in the Scottish Championship so will be hoping this kit is one we see in the Scottish Premier League next season.

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I like to end each issue with some of the “going ons” within the Kit Community.

The Spark Academy have now taken their wonderful “Kit Breakdown” across to YouTube where they are looking at the authenic and replica versions of the Manchester United 2021 / 22 home shirt.

Watch the video here

Our friends over at the Kit Mag have recent tweeted about contributing in future issues of their magazine, if you are interested take a look at their site and just follow the instructions laid out here – I think I might even try and submit something myself….

@ArsenalShirt shared an interesting tweet this week, where the club were offering fans who hold “fan tokens” the chance to vote for what kit the team should wear in their game against Southampton on 16th April… interesting to see and is this the future??? (I would go 3rd kit, the more we see that the better in my eyes)!

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

FA Cup – Fifth Round, Kit Review

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The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, first kicked off 150 years ago in November 1871 has now completed the 5th Round of the 2021/22 season.

Details from Round 4 can be found here – FA Cup – Fourth Round, Kit Review

The 5th Round of the competition was held mid-week between 1st March and 7th March, this meant as many games as possible could be televised. The round consisted of 16 teams, 9 Premier League Teams, 6 Championship Teams and Boreham Wood of The National League, the lowest ranked and final Non League team in the competition.

No replays from now on in the competition, so all ties were concluded in these games by Extra Time / Penalities if needed.

Fifth Round Kit Log

Manufacturers

Only six manufacturers left in the competition at this round, with a fairly even split across Puma (4), Umbro, Hummel and Nike (3), with Puma maintaining their record with the most kits in each round.

Kit Highlights

Looking at some of the highlights of the Fifth Round…

There were three teams wore have worn 3 different kits in their 3 games in the FA Cup so far, with Manchester City, Southampton and West Ham United

Boreham Wood were in a “One-off” kit for their game at Everton, this was made even more special with their Premier League hosts covering the costs of this kit, as well as other costs such as travel and hotels, a really nice touch and show of support of the Non League Team.

Let me know your favourite kits from the FA Cup Fifth Round at either the comments section below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek