Category: EFL

EFL, League Two 23/24: End of Season Kit Report

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The 2023/24 League Two Season came to a close on Saturday 27th April 2024, with Stockport County securing the title, with Wrexham as runners up who make it back to back Promotions and the final automatic spot being secured by Mansfield Town. MK Dons, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, and Crawley Town 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)
  • 106 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 41 Home Kits worn in total
    • 17 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 35% of variations used
    • 37 Away Kits worn in total
    • 13 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 24% of variations worn
    • 25 3rd Kits worn in total
    • 5 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kit – 3% of variations worn
    • 3 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 Two Teams

  • Crawley Town wore 8 Kit Variations: Home x3, Away x3, 3rd x2
  • 2 Teams wore 7 Kit Variations
    • Newport County: Home x2, Away x3, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Salford City: Home x3, Away, 3rd x3
  • 3 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • AFC Wimbledon: Home, Away x3, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Morecambe: Home x4, Away x2
    • Walsall – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Crewe Alexandra: Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Grimsby Town: Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Harrogate Town: Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
  • 6 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
  • 9 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
    • Morecambe: Red / White / Red – Red / White / White – All Red – Red / White / Black
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • AFC Wimbledon: All White – White / Blue / Blue – White / Blue / White
    • Crawley Town: Green / Black / Green – Green / White / Green – Green / Black / Black
    • Newport County: All White – White / Black / White – White / Black / Black
    • Walsall: All White – White / Red / White – White / Red / Red
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
    • Salford City: White – Black – Black / White – Black – White / All White
  • Sutton United in 4 different kits with no variations
  • 7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
  • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, with variations used
  • Most worn Home Kit – 39, Stockport County
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Harrogate Town / Colchester United (11 Default / 5 with White Socks)
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, AFC Wimbledon

Something new that I have created for this season is an overview of when each of the new kits were first worn, for example… AFC Wimbledon wore their Home Kit in their first game, 3rd Kit in their 3rd game and Away Kit in their 4th game..!

Match 1 to Match 23

Match 24 to Match 46

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 2023/24 League Two season teams wore 106 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 93 Kits were worn, in fact this number of kits was passed just under half way through the season on 23rd December 2023. League Two was only beaten by the Premier League in the number of Kit Variations used in the English Leagues this season.

The most worn Kit in the League was from Champions Stockport County who wore their wonderful Home Kit in 39 of 46 games, only changing 7 times throughout the whole season..!

Harrogate Town wore change kits in all their away games this season, wearing their Away Kit 16 times and 3rd Kit 7 Times in two different variations…!

Between Match 40 and Match 44, AFC Wimbledon wore 5 different kits in 5 games, this included Home Kit, 2 variations of their Away Kit, 3rd Kit and Special Charity Kit.. these games were over 3 weeks between 23rd March and 13th April.

There were three “Special Kits” used in League Two this season, each of them Charity Kits…

AFC Wimbledon for War Child and their own community charity.

Newport County for Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Sutton United for Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

Although not a charity kit Mansfield Town wore Red Socks with their Home Kit for Down’s Syndrome Association awareness week, something they have also done in previous seasons.

Grimsby Town’s home kit, gives us a nice little kit quirk in League Two with several teams having wearing alternative socks due to the red socks worn by the club, last season there were 5 teams that used alternative socks when playing against The Mariners, this season that number was 6 plus Newport County wore white shorts as an alternative against them!

Morecambe with only a Home and Away Kits used 6 different kit variations, with 4 different Home Kit Looks and 2 Away Kits, using 2 Shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of socks!

There we have it, League Two’s End of Season Kit report for 2023/24, 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 when they are published…!

Premier League: End of Season Report

Championship: End of Season Report

League One: End of Season Report

League Two – 100 Kits!

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League Two Clubs are the gift that keeps on giving for us Kit Geeks, on Saturday 10th February we saw the 100th Kit Variation used by the 24 clubs in League Two in 362 Games, for comparison in whole of the 2022/23 season there were a total 94 Kits used, this number was surpassed just under half way through the season with Newport County wearing a kit mash up that contained Away Shirt / Home Shorts / 3rd Socks on at Wrexham on 23rd December 2023.

So where have the 100 kits come from?

The way that I define it is a discintive look, so taking all the elements of the kit (Shirt / Shorts / Socks) and then reviewing how that look is made up and the differences in the kit looks, so a club’s default home kit would be one look and then if the home shirt is worn with default shorts but away kit socks, that becomes a new kit variation.

Overview:

  • 24 – Home Kits
  • 15 – Home Kit Variations
  • 24 – Away Kits
  • 11 – Away Kit Variations
  • 20 – 3rd Kits
  • 5 – 3rd Kit Variations
  • 1 – 4th / Special Kit

Looking at the Clubs in more detail, these kits are in order of their appearence this season and the number of times each kit has been used underneath it, this information is correct up to Saturday 10th February.

Accrington Stanley – 4 Kit used, with the Home, Away and 3rd Kits joined by a Home Kit with alternative white socks!

AFC Wimbledon – One of the ten teams to use just Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Barrow AFC – Another team with Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Bradford City – Home, Away and 3rd Kits for The Bantams

Colchester United – Three Kit variations for Colchester, however just Home and Away, with an Away variation with alternative white socks!

Crawley Town – The most variations of the 100 Kits is from Crawley Town with 8 Kits, with different elements of each of the three kits being used to create three different Home Kit looks, three Away Kits and two 3rd Kit variations. The final variation used was the 100th Kit of the Season, their Default 3rd Kit (White / Black / White) used at Crewe Alexandra.

Crewe Alexandra – 5 Kits used by Crewe, with Home and Away variations combined with the three default kits.

Doncaster Rovers – 4 Kits used, with Home Kit with away shorts being used as a variation, we are still to see their default Away Kit this season!

Forest Green Rovers – Just Home, Away and 3rd Kits used (in that order as well).

Gillingham – Our 5th Team with just Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Grimsby Town – 5 Kits for Grimsby, with mash ups of socks between Home and Away Kits

Harrogate Town – Another team to use socks to create mash up looks, Home and 3rd Kits in Harrogate’s case

Mansfield Town – Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Milton Keynes Dons – Another team with just Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Morecambe – Although just having Home and Away Kits this season, Morecambe have used alternative white socks and mash ups to create 5 Kit Variations in total

Newport County – One of two teams to use 7 Kit Variations, however the only team in League Two (and EFL / Premier League) to use a 4th Kit this season, also using two different Home Looks, three Away and 3rd Kit!

Notts County – Another team to use just Home and Away Kits, with alternative white shorts and socks being used to create a second Home Kit look

Salford City - The 2nd Team with 7 Kit Variations, again another team using element of the kits to create different looks, Salford’s however have only used Black Shorts / Socks and White Shorts / Socks to create the look with their three different shirts.

Stockport County – The 8th Team Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Sutton United – Home, Away and 3rd Kits

Swindon Town – 4 Kits, with Home combined with 3rd Socks to create an alternative look

Tranmere Rovers – The Final team with just Home, Away and 3rd Kits, also Tranmere’s Home kit at this moment is the most used kit in League Two with 23 appearences in their 31 games so far (correct as of 12th February)

Walsall – The only that has used 6 Kit Variations this season so far, Walsall are one of my favourite teams for kit usage, often creating different looks with their kit elements, this season has seen two Home Kits, three Away and just the default 3rd Kit used.

Wrexham – 4 Kits looks, with the alternative variation of Away and Home socks being 4 times so far this season!

As mentioned above the 100th Kit used was Crawley Town’s use of their default 3rd Kit against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday 10th February 2024.

Kit Grid – Up to 12th February, this shows what the fixtures were for this season so far!

One Final look, at when the Kits were worn… this view shows you at which match the new kit look / variation was first used, for example… AFC Wimbledon wore their Home Kit in their first game, 3rd Kit in their 3rd game and Away Kit in their 4th game..!

There we have it 100 Kits of League Two, let me know your thoughts and comments below or over at @Kit_Geek

Kit Variations – English Leagues

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I am always looking for new ways to visualise what I do, as regular followers will know I like to look into the details of the Kits worn across various football competitions, so this is a post to consolidate some of that data and it will be one that will be flexible and be updated as we move through the rest of the 2023/24 Season!

One of those things that I look at are the variations of the kits used, but what does that actually mean…

I break the Kits down into their three main elements – Shirts / Shorts / Socks, then I look at the variations of these elements worn with the shirt which is the consistent part of the kit!

Definitions of Terms used

  • Default Kit – This is the regisitered Kit of Each Team, so Home, Away and Third Kits (Could Also be termed as Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Kits)
  • Kit Variation – One of the Shorts and Socks is change with either the Home, Away and Third Kits
  • Mash Up – The use of elements of different kits being used together, for example Away Shirt worn with Home Shorts and Third Socks (as coined on The Football Kit Podcast)
  • Alternative Shorts / Socks – A bespoke alternative pair of shorts and socks, created for a specific kit

Some examples…

Default Kits – The way the kits are designed to worn, Stockport County showing their three kits at the start of the 2023/24 Season.

Kit Variation – Manchester United are an excellent example of this, Home Shirt was been worn in six different variations this season in Premier League.

Mash up – Luton Town are my go to choice here, having worn the ultimate Mash Up already this season by wearing their Third Shirt with Away Shorts and Home Socks.

Alternative Shorts / Socks – A good example here is Everton this season, who have worn their Away kit with “Default” Navy shorts and socks and also “Alternative” Salmon / Coral shorts and socks

Kit Variations – 2023/24 – Last update, 2nd February 2024

So here we are this season and here is a snapshot that shows all the kits used in the Premier League and EFL so far this season.

Premier League – 94 Kits in Total

  • 37 Home Kits (20 Default / 17 Variations)
  • 35 Away Kits (20 Default / 15 Variations)
  • 22 Third Kits (13 Default / 9 Varitions)
  • Manchester United have worn 10 Kit Variations this season
  • 3 Teams in 6 Kit Variations
  • 6 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
  • 6 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 4 Teams in 3 Kit Variations

Championship – 81 Kits in Total

  • 31 Home Kits (24 Default / 7 Variations)
  • 27 Away Kits (24 Default / 3 Variations)
  • 23 Third Kits (All Default)
  • Queen’s Park Rangers have worn 5 Kit Variations
  • 7 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 16 Teams in 3 Kit Variations

League One – 76 Kits in Total

  • 29 Home Kits (24 Default / 5 Variations)
  • 26 Away Kits (24 Default / 2 Variations)
  • 21 Third Kits (18 Default / 3 Varitions)
  • 7 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 14 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in 2 Kit Variations

League Two – 98 Kit Variations

  • 39 Home Kits (24 Default / 15 Variations)
  • 34 Away Kits (24 Default / 10 Variations)
  • 24 Third Kits (19 Default / 5 Varitions)
  • 1 Fourth Kit
  • 3 Teams in 7 Kit Variations
  • 1 Team in 6 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
  • 5 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 12 Teams in 3 Kit Variations

The only Fourth Kit used so far this season is from Newport County, worn at Home against Stockport Country on 25th November 2023, this was a Charity Kit for their former winger Jason Bowen and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

There we have it, I hope this gives you a little bit insight into how I look at kits and how I record their usage, I will continue to update this as we move through the final months of the season.

Any thoughts or comments, please let me know!

Kit Manufacturers Breakdown: 2023/24

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I created a graphic this week that showed a breakdown of the Kit Manufacturers of the current 92 English League Clubs from Premier League and EFL for this current season.

So thought I would create something with a little more detail for those Kit Nerds and Geeks out there, a form of reference guide for Kits and Clubs for the 2023/24 Season.

2024/25 Season can be found here

Overview of Kit Manufacturers

Breakdown per Manufacturer (In good old fashioned League Ladders Style)!

Puma – 16 Teams

Macron – 15 Teams

Umbro – 13 Teams

Adidas – 9 Teams

Castore – 7 Teams

Nike – 7 Teams

Errea – 6 Teams

Hummel – 4 Teams

Joma – 3 Teams

New Balance – 2 Teams

O’Neills – 2 Teams

Oxen – 2 Teams

That Leaves six teams, each being the only club that their manufacturer supplies.

FBT – Crewe Alexandra (League Two)

Kappa – Hull City (Championship)

Kelme – Watford (Championship)

Mills – Tranmere Rovers (League Two)

Tag – Burton Albion (League One)

VX3 – Newport County (League Two)

So there we have it, 92 Team, 18 manufacturers and all the details you may need.

Any surprises there, any thoughts and comments please let me know?

2024/25 Season can be found here

EFL, League Two 22/23 – End of Season Report

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The 2022/23 League Two Season came to a close on Monday 8th May 2023, with Leyton Orient securing the title well before the end of the season on 22nd April, Stevenage were runners up with a remarkable turnaround from their previous season and the final automatic spot being secured by Northampton Twon on the final day of the season. Stockport County, Carlisle United, Bradford City and Salford City 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)
  • 93 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 26 Home Kits worn, includes 2 23/24 kits
    • 9 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 34% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 8 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 27% of variations worn
    • 20 3rd Kits worn
    • 5 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 Two Teams

  • 3 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Crawley Town – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
    • Hartlepool United – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Walsall – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Barrow AFC – Home x2 (Inc 23/24 Home), Away x2, 3rd
    • Rochdale – Home x3, Away, 3rd
    • Salford City – Home, Away, 3rd x3
  • 8 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
  • 8 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
  • 2 Teams in just 2 Kit Variations
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
    • Hartlepool United: White/Blue – White – White (with hoop) / White/Blue – White – White / White/Blue – White – Red
    • Rochdale: Blue/Black – White – Black / Blue/Black – Black – Black / Blue/Black – White – White
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Crawley Town: White – Black – White / All White / White – Black – Black
    • Walsall: All White / White – White – Red / White – Red – White
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
    • Salford City: White – Black – Black / White – Black – White / All White
  • Sutton United in 4 different kits with no variations
  • 7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
  • 2 Teams in just Home and Away Kits
  • Most worn Home Kit – 39, Mansfield Town, 38 default look and once with away socks
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Stevenage
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 10, Swindon Town, 9 default look and once with home shorts

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 2022/23 League Two teams wore 93 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 86 Kits were worn, although there was an increase season on season this was lowest in English Leagues this season. League Two was also the only league which had two teams in just two kits (Home and Away), Colchester United and Stevenage. Stevenage did use a special kit in their FA Cup victory against Aston Villa but this was never used for League games.

Hartlepool United were one of two teams that wore their home kit in 3 different variations, however two of these looks used white socks. They went through a period during the season, from 31st December to 3rd April where their home kit look was with just plain white socks rather than the default home socks with contained red bands and Errea branding within them. Supply Issues, the Kit-Man’s choice, one of the Kit Mysteries of 2022/23 season!

There was just the one “Special” Kit on show this season, and that was Sutton United’s 125th Anniversary Kit which saw The Us turn out in a red kit with white shorts and red socks, their orignal club colours from 125 years ago. This was part of a run that of games that had Sutton in 4 completely different kits in 4 games.

Grimsby Town’s home kit caused some teams in League one some issues with socks this season, Grimsby’s default look uses red socks which meant that 5 teams used alternative socks when playing against The Mariners..

Carlisle United, wore their Away kit with Home socks…

Crawley Town in Home Kit with Away socks…

Crewe Alexander in Home Kit with 3rd shorts and socks…

Doncaster Rovers in their 3rd kit with Away socks…

Walsall in Home kit with Away socks…

Carlisle United only had Home and Away kits this season but used these kits to mix a match two additional looks, as mentioned above using one look to face Grimsby Town and then using Home Shirts, Away shorts and socks against Bradford City

Mansfield Town were one of a number teams across the EFL to use their kit to raise awareness for a charity. The Stags wore the club’s light blue away socks with amber shirts and blue shorts as a display of support to mark Down’s Syndrome Awareness Week, and the Down’s Syndrome Association’s #LotsOfSocks campaign.

On the final day of the season, two teams wore their 2023/24 Home Kits… Barrow AFC wore their new Puma Home Kit and Newport County debuted their kit from VX3 who are replacing Hummel as their manufacturer.

There we have it, League Two’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, 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 – 2022/23 End of Season Report

Championsip – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League One – 2022/23 End of Season Report

EFL, League One 22/23 – End of Season Report

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The 2022/23 League One Season came to a close on Sunday 7th May 2023, with Plymouth Argyle securing the title on the final day of the season and breaking the 100 point barrier, runners up were Ipswich Town who themselves managed a staggering 98 points to secure automatic promotion to The Championship. Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United 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)
  • 102 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 15 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 37% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 14 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 24% of variations worn
    • 19 3rd Kits worn
    • 5 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

  • 1 Teams wore 7 Kit Variations
    • Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x2
  • 5 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Barnsley – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2, Special
    • Charlton Athletic – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Morecambe – Home x4, Away x2
    • Oxford United – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Plymouth Argyle – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Burton Albion – Home x2, Away x3
    • Derby County – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Lincoln City – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
  • 5 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
  • 10 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
    • Morecambe: Red – White – Black / Red – White – White / Red – Red – Black / Red – Red – White
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Accrington Stanley: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Black
    • Burton Albion: All Black / Black – Yellow – Yellow / Black – Black – Yellow
    • Plymouth Argyle: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Green
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits
    • Accrington Stanley: Black – Black – White / Black – White – White
    • Barnsley: All Black – Black / Black / White
    • Charlton Athletic: All Blue / Blue – Blue – White
    • Derby County: Black – Black – Green / All Black
    • Lincoln City: All White / White – White – Black
  • 7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
  • 3 Teams wore 3 kits with no 3rd kit, all using a variation of their Home Kit – Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Ipswich Town
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Cambridge United
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Exeter City

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 2022/23 League One teams wore 102 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 94 Kits were worn, the 102 Kits were the most worn in an EFL League this season. All teams wore a minimum of 3 kits with only 3 teams in just home and away kits each of these team wore at least one kit variation of their home kit which gives us some different looks through out the season.

Bristol Rovers had a couple of Kit Tales this season, the first being in their game against Exeter City on 29th December when as the Home Kit they supported The Shelter “No Home Kit” campaign by wearing their Away shirt with Home Shorts and Socks, however they changed shirts at half time to return to their home shirt and ended the game in their full home kit, giving us the only kit variation to be used for half a game!

This half time change led to a run of 18 games, from 29th December 2022 to 22nd April where their only wore their Home Kit, this 124 day run was the longest run of just one kit being used in the English Leagues this season.

Morecambe used 4 Home Kit looks through the season, they used two different looks in home games with their traditional red shirts and white shorts paired with both black (default) and white socks. The other variations used on the road used red shorts with both pairs of socks.

There was only one special kit used in League One and that was Barnsley, who wore a “Red Out” shirt that was to support their “Together Red” campaign which was to help raise awareness Barnsley’s no-tolerance message of discrimination of any kind, ensuring Oakwell is a safe place for all.

Kit sustainability is a topic that has been raised a lot of the past season, so I wanted to call out the many teams in League One that used kits in the 2022/23 season that have been from the previous season… 8 teams re-used 11 kits in total for a second season

  • Accrington Stanley – Home, Away and 3rd kits were from last season!
  • Bolton Wanderers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Bristol Rovers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Exeter City – Away and 3rd kits were from last season
  • Forest Green Rovers – Home kit from last season
  • Port Vale – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Sheffield Wednesday – 3rd kit was last season’s away
  • Wycombe Wanderers – 3rd kit was last season’s away

Two of these teams left it late to use their 3rd Kits, with Sheffield Wedsnesday using their’s in their penultimate league game and Wycombe Wanderers using theirs in the final game of the season both teams had only used Home and Away Kits up till that point!

Wycombe Wanderes were also part of one of my favourite “Kit Match Ups” of the season, when they played Bristol Rovers on 26th December 2022, giving us the unusual kit site of two quartered shirts playing against each other, and what a sight it was… perfectly balanced kits and works so well in humble opinion!

My final thought of 2022/23 League One season is with the Champions Plymouth Argyle… their away kit this season which pays homage to the kit worn when they played in Playoff Final at Wembley in 1996. This kit is my favourite kit in English football this season, its design, use of the club’s traditional colours and overall balance is a stand out kit from Puma, so my congratulations to The Pilgrims not only for the return to The Championship but doing it in the one of the best kits of the recent years… (please keep it for another year!!)

There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, 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 – 2022/23 End of Season Report

Championsip – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League Two – 2022/23 End of Season Report

EFL, The Championship 22/23 – End of Season Report

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The 2022/23 Championship Season came to a close on Monday 8th May 2023, with Burnley becoming Champions after accumulating a staggering 101 points and returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Sheffield United secured the second automatic spot to return to Premier League after two seasons in the Second Tier. The teams competing in the Play-Offs are Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Sunderland.

I want 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)
  • 99 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 33% of Kit variations used
    • 25 Home Kits worn
    • 8 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 35% of variations used
    • 23 Away Kits worn
    • 12 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 30% of variations worn
    • 22 3rd Kits worn
    • 7 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits 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 Championship Teams

  • 1 Team wore 8 Kit Variations, most in The Championship
    • Luton Town – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x3
  • 1 Team wore 7 Kit Variations
    • Stoke City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x3
  • 7 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
    • Birmingham City – Home x2, Away x2, Special Kit
    • Blackpool – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Bristol City – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Hull City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • QPR – Home x2, Away x3
    • Reading – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Sheffield United – Home, Away x3, 3rd
  • 4 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 11 Teams in 3 Kit Variations – Just Home, Away, 3rd Kits
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 2 Kits
    • 9 Teams in Home Kit and 1 variation of Home Kit
    • Bristol City in 2 different Home Kits (Hummel and O’Neills)
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Luton Town: All White – White / Navy / White – White / White / Navy
    • QPR: Maroon, Navy Hoops / Navy / Navy – Maroon, Navy Hoops / Maroon / Maroon – Maroon, Navy Hoops / Maroon / Navy
    • Sheffield United: All White – White / Black / White – White / Black / Black
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
    • Stoke City: All Black – Black / Red / Red – Black / White / White
  • 13 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • 11 Teams in just Home, Away and 3rd Kits
    • Huddersfield Town in 4 kits, Home, Away, 3rd and Special
    • Bristol City in 5 different kits – 22/23 Home, Away, 3rd and 23/24 Home, 3rd
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Norwich City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 15, Rotherham United, West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 13, Stoke City (including variations)

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 2022/23 Championship teams wore 99 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 97 Kits were worn.  The increase of two can be directly linked to one club…. Bristol City.

After Hummel’s UK Kit Supplier Elite Sports Group when into Administration it meant there were supply issues for the teams they provided kits too in EFL, Bristol City took this opportunity to introduce their 2023/24 Kit Produced by O’Neills and took to the field in their new kits from end of February with 14 games still to play, they also introduced their 3rd kit for next season as well, wearing that 3 times in total, this meant that they wore 5 different kits this season with no variations.

Stoke City promised the world for a Kit Geek like me this season, their initial kit launched promised several looks that the team could take to the field in this season, in the end they “only” used 7 different Kit Variations through-out 2022/23 but the overall idea and execution of their Kit Set should be applauded in my eyes.

Socks are often overlooked in terms of Kit desgin, so I want to call out Hull City’s away socks which are a thing of beauty with their black, amber, red hoops which complement the details on cuffs and collar of their away shirt

Blackpool were the only team not to wear their away kit in it’s default look, initially launch with “Tangerine” shorts, the actual shorts were never used with the white shirts and socks, The Seasiders going for an all white when wearing their away kit on just 3 occasions. However the shorts did see plenty of action by giving Blackpool an alternative all “Tangerine” look which was used 8 times on the road and interestingly not used after Michael Appleton was sacked as Manager in January.

For the second season in a row there was a theme of clubs wearing their 3rd Kits more than their Away kits… with 8 times falling under this bracket.

  • Blackburn Rovers – 10 times
  • Blackpool – 8 times (2 variations)
  • Brisol City – 8 times (Hummel and O’Neills)
  • Coventry City – 10 times
  • Huddersfield Town – 9 times
  • Hull City – 5 times
  • Middlesbrough – 7 times
  • Stoke City – 13 times

There were two “Special” Kit used this season in The Championship.

Huddersfield Town’s kit for Yorkshire Air Ambulance which was a yellow and red kit, very Melchester Rovers and worn against Norwich City (one of only two teams to wear yellow as their home kit), the match shirts were auctioned after the game.

Birmingham City, had a special kit for their “Arthur” memorial kit with profits going directly to NSPCC Birmingham and was worn at home against Preston North End, again a team which caused a clash with the special kit.

There was other examples of teams wearing change kits in Home Fixtures, there was a second campaign across the EFL for Shelter, “No Home Kit” inititiave was used to highlight homelessness around the Christmas period this season and teams took part in The Championship this season… with Cardiff City, Coventry City and Wigan Athletic

Watford celebrated their centenary with a black and white kit (used as their 3rd Kit this season), the colours they initially wore 100 years ago.

Sunderland went with red shorts in their game against Hull City, this was for the Foundation by Light charity and the charity’s Small Change Big Difference campaign. The shorts were auctioned at the end of the game.

There we have it, The Championship’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, 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 – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League One – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League Two – 2022/23 End of Season Report

Stoke City Kits – 2022 / 23

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As mentioned in the latest Edition of The Heat Press I called out this graphic from Stoke City which shows their Kit launch for 2022/23 and how they will be used as an overall set, it was something I wanted to take a little deeper look into.

On the 1st June The Potters launched their home kit, which was followed in the next two days with the two change kits (no kit designated as Away or 3rd), showing us these kits are being viewed as an overall set not three individual kits.

Macron have produced Stoke City’s kits since 2016 and in their 7th season as a partnership and for the first time since 2017/18 (their last in the Premier League) have produced three kits for the forthcoming season, having only had Home and Away Kits in the past four seasons and using alternative shorts and socks with these kits to avoid clashes.

However a rule was brought in by the EFL at the start of the 2021/22 season which requested clubs only have three shirts, three shorts and three socks in their “Kit Locker” for use, The Potters have shown this season how using these elements of kit sensibly and viewing the kit set as a whole kit can provide alternative that work well for the club and keeping a constant theme across all kit variations, we had an excellent example of this with Walsall in the 21/22 Season, details of that can be found here

Home Kit – The default Home Kit combines the traditional red and white striped shirt (this year seeing some detaling in the stripes) paired with white shorts and socks, the alternative of red shorts and socks (something we have seen regularly used over the past seasons) and a new look with black shorts and socks.

White Change Kit – The next kit launched was the white change kit, taking inspriation from the away kits of the 70s with the two coloured sash, this gives an unique look for the club (that kit being matched with black shorts and red socks). Looking at the club shop it appears this version will be used with black shorts and socks as default, with the red and white offering alternative looks.

Black Change Kit – The final kit lauched was the black kit, again using the club shop as the basis of this look will be paired with Red shorts and socks as a default look and this gives each short and sock colour block a first choice default look with one of the three kits.

So there we have it, currenly nine different kit variations offered with just three shirts, shorts and socks, we could even see up to a total of 27 kit variations possible if the shorts and socks are also mixed and matched, could we see a different look in each Away game in The Championship, part of me certainly hopes so.

Well done to Macron and Stoke City in delivering which is likely to be one of the best kit overall kit sets seen in the 2022/23 Season.

EFL, The Championship 21/22 – End of Season Report

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The 2021/22 Championship Season came to a close on Saturday 7th May 2022, with Champions being Fulham, who are returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking and scoring over 100 goals in the process. AFC Bournemouth secured the second automatic spot with a game to go to return to Premier League after two seasons in the Second Tier. The teams competing in the Play-Offs are Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Luton Town.

I want 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)
  • 97 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 13 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 38% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 13 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 22% of variations worn
    • 18 3rd Kits worn
    • 3 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits 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 Championship Teams

  • 5 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations, most in The Championship
    • Barnsley – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Fulham – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
    • Luton Town – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Millwall – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Queen’s Park Rangers – Home x3, Away x2, Special Kit
  • 4 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
    • AFC Bournemouth – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Birmingham City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Coventry City – Home, Away x2, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Huddersfield Town – Home, Away x3, 3rd
  • 5 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 7 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, 2 Kit variations
    • Middlesbrough
    • Reading
    • Stoke City
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
    • Barnsley – Red / White / Red (x2 – once with 3rd “Monochrome” shorts), Red / White / Purple (Charity Socks)
    • Millwall – Navy / White / Navy, All Navy, Navy / Navy / White
    • QPR – White shorts & socks, Blue shorts & socks, Blue shorts & white socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Fulham – Black / White / Black, All Black, Black / Black / White
    • Huddersfield Town – Navy / Navy / White, Navy / Navy / Black, Navy / White / Black
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits
    • Luton Town – All White, White / Navy / White
  • 10 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • 7 Teams in just Home, Away and 3rd Kits
    • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Bristol City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 21, Reading
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 13, Nottingham Forest

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 Championship teams wore 97 Kits, this was a reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 110 Kits were worn.  The reduction is linked to the number of times teams had variations of their kits, with only 29 variations of Home, Away, 3rd kits used compared to 39 variations from the default look used in 2020 / 21 season.

Bristol City wore their home kit for 38 times, but a special mention to Middlesbrough who wore their home kit 37 times, to be the most used kits in League this season, both Red, Both Hummel.

A common theme in The Championship this season was the use of 3rd Kits, with five teams wearing their 3rd kit more than their away kit.

AFC Bournemouth – 3rd Kit worn 8 times

Blackburn Rovers – 3rd Kit worn 12 times

Huddersfield Town – 3rd Kit worn 10 times

Millwall – 3rd Kit worn 10 times

Nottingham Forest – 3rd Kit worn 13 times (most in worn in the League)

Millwall where the only team not use their default Home Kit (Navy / White / Navy) in any of their away games this season, in their 23 games away from The Den they used two variations of Home Kit (All Navy worn five times, Navy / Navy / White worn twice), two away looks (White / Navy / White worn four times and All white worn twice) and their 3rd kit ten times.

Reading wore their away kit in 21 of their 23 games, only wearing their home kit in an away game for the first time on 26th February 2022 at Blackpool, the other fixture was at Hull City in April.

There were two “Special Kits” worn through out the season, these were celebration kits worn by Coventry City and Queen’s Park Rangers and were both worn in home games for the clubs.

Coventry City – Return to Ricoh Kit

QPR – 140th Anniversary Kit

There were two 3rd Kits that we did not see in their default look, Hull City only used their 3rd kit once this season against Huddersfield Town where they wore the kit with black shorts (Home Shorts) rather than the default Amber Shorts, which robbed us Kit Lovers of a unique look!

Cardiff City were the second team that did not use their default 3rd Kit look, it was communicated that “The Bluebirds” would use their away kit from 2020 / 21 as their 3rd kit this season, however in its two uses this season it was worn with white shorts and socks and not navy that was used last season.

A final Kit “quirk” of the season was in the first game of season (and thanks for the tip off from an eagle eyed fan) was Barnsley took to the field in the game against Cardiff City in their 3rd kit shorts, also white but have a monochrome version of the club crest on them (Can be seen the image below).

There we have it, The Championship’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

League One – End of Season Report

League Two – End of Season Report

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

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The 2021/22 League Two Season came to a close on Saturday 7th May 2022, with Champions being Forest Green Rovers, who gain promotion to Third Tier of English Football for the first time with Exeter City securing Runner’s Up spot, Bristol Rovers securing a final day promotion with a remarkable 7-0 victory against already relegated Scunthorpe United, a successful season for clubs in that region of the country in League Two. Northampton Town, Port Vale, Swindon Town and Mansfield Town will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I want 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)
  • 86 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 36% of Kit variations used
    • 25 Home Kits worn
    • 6 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 33% of variations used
    • 25 Away Kits worn
    • 3 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 26% of variations worn
    • 17 3rd Kits worn
    • 6 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 5% of variations worn
    • 4 Special Kits 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 Two Teams

  • Walsall wore 10 Kit Variations
    • Home x3, Away x3, 3rd x4
    • Full Details can be found here
    • 11.5% of all kits worn in League Two
  • Rochdale wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Home x2, Away, 3rd x3
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Colchester United – Home, Away x2, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Stevenage – Home x2, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Tranmere Rovers – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
  • Bradford City wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
  • 15 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, 2 Kit variations
    • Carlisle United
    • Newport County
    • Scunthorpe United
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
    • Walsall – Red / White / Green, All Red, Red / Red / Green
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Walsall – Green / Green / Red, All Green, Green / Green / White
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 4 Kits
    • Walsall – White / Green / White, White / Red / White, White / Red / Red. White / Red / Green
  • 12 Teams wore just Home, Away, 3rd (or Special) Kits
  • 17 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • Bradford City wore 4 kits with no variations
    • 3 Teams in just Home and Away kits
  • Mansfield Town wore two “Away” Kits, debuting their 2022 / 23 Away Kit in the final away league game of the season
  • Most worn Home Kit – 40, Mansfield Town
  • Most worn Away Kit – 19, Colchester United (22 including the one other variation used)
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 14, Salford City and Tranmere Rovers (who wore 3rd Kit 14 times in total. 13 default look and 1 variation)

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 Two teams wore 86 Kits, this was a huge reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 117 Kits were worn.  The reduction is linked to the number of times teams had variations of their kits, with only 15 variations of Home, Away, 3rd kits used (7 of which worn by Walsall) compared to 50 variations from the default look used in 2020 / 21 season.

Two Teams, Colchester United and Harrogate Town wore change kits in all 23 away game. Colchester United in their away kit for 22 times and 3rd Kit once, where Harrogate Town had more of an even split with their Away Kit used 11 times and 3rd Kit worn 12 times.

Stevenage had two different Home Kits through out the season, an inital kit which was only worn four times before their actual Home Kit for the season was used.

The was a subtle difference in sponsor layout and additional stripes across the chest of the shirt in the final home kit.

League Two was also the home of “Special Kits” in 2021 / 22, with four teams wearing a special kit for a variety of reasons.

Bradford City – Limited Edition 4th Shirt

Colchester United – Ukraine Solidarity Kit

Northampton Town – 125th Annivesary Kit

Stevenage – Season Ticket Holder Tribute Kit

Walsall worn a remarkable 10 different kit variations, using elements of the Home, Away and 3rd kits to build these variations, I have gone into detail about this in a seperate article which you can find here

Mansfield Town wore their home kit for 40 games through out the season, the most of any team in the top four English Leagues, only wearing their away kit six times including debuting their 22 / 23 Away kit in their final away of the season at Salford City.

There we have it, League Two’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 One – End of Season Report