Category: General

The Heat Press – Issue 5

Posted in General, Kit News, The Heat PressTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Time for Issue Number 5 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 4 click here

The Headlines

  • QPR – 140th Anniversary Kit
  • Doncaster Rovers Special Kit
  • Dundee / Dundee United 3rd Kits
  • Formula 1 Kit News

Queen’s Park Rangers – 140th Anniversay Kit

On Saturday 15th January, QPR wore a limited-edition anniversary shirt, designed as an homage to the colours that were worn back in 1882 by Christchurch Rangers who four years later joined forces with St. Jude’s Institute to form Queens Park Rangers.

Image

There will be a limit number of shirts available to buy, one for the QPR Completists out there, full details about the shirt and how to buy can be found on QPR’s website here

Doncaster Rovers – Special Kit

On Saturday 15th January, Doncaster Rovers wore a “Special” Kit, their all black look was choosen to promote Mental Health Struggles and show that they are not always visble.

Following on from what Arsenal did with their #NoMoreRed campaign, for me this is a wonderful way to use Football Kits to promote issues and charities, so congratulations to Doncaster Rovers and to all involved in this campaign.

Image

Dundee / Dundee United 3rd Kits

The two neighbours from Dundee (just have a look how close their grounds are if you have not seen that before) both launched new 3rd kits this week, both supplied by Macron.

Dundee – Their white 3rd kit with “Dundee Blue” chest band is launched in Partnershiup with SSAFA (Armed Forces Charity)

Dundee United – Limited Edition 3rd kit (400 available) is based on the club’s first ever 3rd kit from 1995/96

Formula 1 Kit News

I also like to keep an eye on “Kit News” from other sports, this week it was confirmed that Kappa will become the Offical Partner and outfitter for Alpine F1 team.

The French Team (part of the Renault Group) have recently had their teamware provided by Le Coq Sportif but this move sees Kappa join the F1 Circuit from 2022.

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 Guys over at Talking Kit Podcast launched a new YouTube Show called #FullKitRankers where they rank a selection of kits, their first episode looked at 10 Kits from AFCON 2021 Tournament and I was lucky enough to join them as guest on their panel along with The Kitsman and KitKingdom83

You can find the show on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IahanrhCT18

The Kit Community pulled together wonderfully when Stuart Morley tweeted a kit concept that his 8 year old Son designed for an Italian 3rd Kit.

This tweet was followed up with some wonder renders of Reuben’s design…

Stuart and Reuben now have their own Twitter Account – @MyKidsKits to share Reuben’s designs, well done to Reuben for his great work and to those that have supported by taking on his design.

The fantastic duo (Jayme and Tania) behind Football Shirts FC have launched their new website over the past couple of days, these guys do fantastic work for various charities and it is well worth finding more out about them, what they do and how you can support them…. https://www.footballshirtsfc.co.uk/

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

Arsenal – #NoMoreRed

Posted in General, Kit NewsTagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

On Sunday 9th January 2022, Arsenal will be taking on Nottingham Forest in the 3rd Round of the 2021/22 FA Cup but their look for the game will be a unique one, they will be wearing an all white kit – no coloured sponsors, no coloured trim, no other colour at all.

This kit is not there for the sake of change or for any commerical gain, its being used to deliver a powerful message, the removal of red from the kit is to highlight the increasing number of knife attacks and teenager murders in London which saw more than 10,000 knife crime offences between June 2020 and June 2021.

Image
Ian Wright one of the faces of the initiative

The campaign is being backed and promoted by Club Legend Ian Wright and Hollywood “A Lister” Idris Elba, who are promoting the work carried out by Arsenal in the Community’s work with young people in London and providing more safe, positive spaces for young people and spotlighting talented individuals who are making a positive difference in their community. 

The launch of Arsenal’s No More Red Campaign can be viewed below.

There are some powerful videos supporting the campaign which are well worth spending a few minutes watching to understand the impact of the initiative.

Idris Elba and Ian Wright video can be viewed below.

As mentioned above Arsenal are not looking for any commerical gain here and as a result of this the shirts will not be available for sale but the match worn shirts will be given to those organisations who are currently working to reduce knife crime in London, these organisations are:

  • Arsenal in the Community
  • The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation
  • Steel Warriors
  • Don’t Stab Your Future (DSYF)
  • Box Up Crime
  • Copenhagen Youth Project
  • St Giles Trust
  • Abianda
  • Octopus Community Network
  • The Ben Kinsella Trust

All details can be found on Arsenal Website – click here

The shirt will have the club crest, Adidas Logo and 3 Stripes and all sponsorship in white, including a sleeve logo of “No More Red” and will be worn with white shorts and socks.

Image

For me this is using Football Kits in the most powerful way, this initiative makes me proud to be a Kit Enthusiast and I have nothing but respect for Arsenal, Adidas and all those that are behind the campaign and bringing this to life, congratulations to you all.

The Heat Press – Issue 1

Posted in General, Kit News, The Heat PressTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

The Heat Press is a new feature that I want to introduce to the Kit Geek Site.

This will be a regular look at the latest news in the Kit World, taking a few talking points from that week and looking into them in a little more detail as well as final section sharing some of the best content from the wonderful creators in The Kit Community.

The Headlines

  • Shelter’s No Home Kit Initiative
  • Christmas Kits
  • The Kitsman Awards
  • Marseille Extend Kit Deal

Shelter’s No Home Kit Initiative

I am sure you are aware of Shelter’s #NoHomeKit charity campaign this Christmas. The campaign is asking for Teams and Fans to wear their away kits to rasie awareness to the Homeless over the Christmas period. Some EFL Teams will be taking part in this over the coming week, so keep an eye of those teams using their change kits in home games.

There is a great video over on Shelter’s Twitter Account promoting the initiative – Click here to see that video.

Here is my tweet helping to promote the cause, so make sure you share your away kits using the #NoHomeKit “hashtag” and if you can donate, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/NoHomeKit and give what you can.

Christmas Kits

Its that time of year when some team release special Christmas Kits, so far we have seen the following kits on show.

U.S. Cremonese, the Italian Team in Serie B

Werder Bremem in Bundesliga 2

Atalanta were also due to have a Christmas Kit but this got pulled in the end, due to the sky line incorporated into the shirt not being of Bergamo where the club are based but being of Torino, I would like to have been a fly on wall on that discussion!!

The Kitsman Awards

The wonderdul @The_Kitsman over on Twitter created an 2021 Awards for Kit Community, the categories as follows…

Voting is currently open for the top four nominees in each category and will remain open until 23rd December 2021, so make sure you check out Josh’s timeline and vote for your favourite accounts

Marseille Extend Kit Deal

Olympique de Marseille and Puma have announced an extenstion to their current kit deal until 2028. The French club have been using Puma kits since the 2018 / 19 season and this deal will mean their relationship will be at least 10 years in the making.

And finally…..

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I want to end each issue with some content that is being created by other in the Kit Community

There is a new Kitbliss Podcast, check out this latest offering from the wonderful Chris at Kitbliss here

Check out this short video from @ChatShirt which is highlight the @chanceunitedfc shirt and how you can order one the shirts to support this great charity.

Kit Mag Volume 2 is now out and is a great read for Kit Lovers out there, you can get both digital and print copies at https://www.kitmag.co.uk/

And thats it, I hope you liked the first issue of The Heat Press, let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in coming weeks, 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 – Second Round, Kit Review

Posted in GeneralTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, first kicked off 150 years ago in November 1871 has now completed the 2nd Round of the 2021/22 season.

Details from Round 1 can be found here – FA Cup – First Round, Kit Review

The second round was made up of 40 Teams made up from the 31 from League One and League Two and just 9 teams from the Non-League English Football Pyramid, with Buxton being the lowest rank team in the round who play in the 7th Tier (Northern Premier League Premier Division).

There was only one game that went to a replay, Barrow AFC v Ipswich Town, so this gave us a total of 21 games for the round.

Second Round Kit Log

Manufacturers

16 Kit Manufacturers were on show in the Second Round, with Puma for the second round running supplying the most kits, with 9 this round (5 League and 4 Non League teams).

This was a reduction from 23 in the First Round, there were 8 manufacturers with just one kit on show, these included Nike and Umbro.

Kit Highlights

Looking at some of the kit highlights for the Second Round.

Carlisle United v Shrewsbury Town, surprisingly resulted in the away team using their home kit, on paper would appear to be kit clash (and we have seen changes for less of a clash) but the result was not too bad with Yellow in the Shrewsbury Kit really standing out in the fixture.

Latest Shrewsbury Town FC news | Shropshire Star

Barrow AFC and Ipswich Town were the only teams to go to a replay, the resulting replay on Wednesday 15th December saw Ipswich Town use their limited edition 3rd Kit, the Black and Grey striped shirt will not be available for sale to supports, so will definitley be a collectors item. It also meant that Ipswich Town have worn Home, Away and 3rd Kits in the FA Cup this season.

Rochdale played in their 3rd variation of Home kit in their 3rd game of competition (First Round, First Round Replay and Second Round), they have worn the Home shirt with white shorts and socks, white shorts and black socks and in their game with Plymouth Argyle wore black shorts and socks.

Rochdale v Plymouth Argyle - Emirates FA Cup - Second Round - Crown Oil Arena - PA Images

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

Champions League 2021/22, Group Stages – Kit Overview

Posted in General, Kit HistoryTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

On Thursday 9th December 2021, the Group Stages of the Champions League wrapped up for another season. I wanted to take a look at the kits worn by the 32 teams competing in these group stages.

Overall Kit Stats:

  • 89 Kits worn in Group Stages – 96 games
  • 46 Home Kits (30 first choice / 16 variations)
  • 27 Away Kits (20 first choice / 7 variations)
  • 15 3rd Kits (13 first choice / 2 variations)
  • Just the 1 4th Kit used (but is it a 4th kit?)

Group A

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • Manchester City only team to use Home, Away and 3rd kits
  • RB Leipzig in two home kit variations
  • PSG Home kit most used, 5 out of the 6 Group matches

Group B

  • 14 Kits worn in the Group, most in 2021/22 Group Stage
  • AC Milan wore 5 kits out of 6 matches, these were worn in first 5 games including 3 variations of home kit
  • Atletico Madrid used 4 kit variations, 2 home kit variations and Away, 3rd kits
  • Liverpool only used 2 kits
  • FC Porto used 3 kits with 2 variations of home kit

Group C

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • None of the teams wore their home / away / 3rd kits
  • Borussia Dortmund only in home kit with 2 variations
  • Sporting Lisbon used 2 Home Kit variations
  • Beskitas used 2 Away kit variations

Group D

  • 8 Kits worn in the Group, least amount used in a group
  • Real Madrid only wore their home kit (2nd season in a row this as happened in the Group Stages)
  • Inter Milan only team to wear Home, Away and 3rd kits, each worn twice
  • Inter Milan away kit did not include the “snake” detailing that the away kit has in domestic competitions

Group E

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • Barcelona in their “Senyera” 4th Kit twice, initially launched in 2019/20 season, this is the 3rd season it has been used in Champions League
  • Barcelona not using their Domestically registered Home and Away kits at all in competition
  • Bayern Munich only team to use Home, Away and 3rd Kits
  • Dynamo Kyiv using home kit for first 5 games

Group F

  • 12 Kits worn in the Group
  • Manchester United in 5 different kit variations, including 3 different home kits
  • Villarreal and Young Boys only wearing two kits
  • Manchester United only to wear a 3rd kit in the group
  • Villarreal wore home kit in 5 out of 6 games

Group G

  • 12 Kits worn in the Group
  • Each team in 3 different Kit Variations
  • Red Bull Salzburg only team to wear Home, Away and 3rd Kits
  • Sevilla in two home kit variations
  • Wolfsburg in two away kit variations
  • Lille in two 3rd kit variations

Group H

  • 13 Kits worn in the Group
  • No team wore all their Home, Away and 3rd kits
  • Zenit St.Petersburg used 4 kit variations, including 3 different away kits
  • Chelsea, Juventus and Malmo all used two home kit variations

Matchday Breakdowns:

Match Day 1

Match Day 2

Match Day 3

Match Day 4

Match Day 5

Match Day 6

Kit Highlights:

Looking at some of my favourite Kit highlights of the Group Stages.

UEFA stopped the use of elements of kits for two teams, Inter Milan were not allowed to use the “Snake” in their away kit which they opted for a plain version of their white away kit and Ajax were not allowed to use “Three Little Birds” motif on the back of their Bob Marley inspired 3rd kit.

Why Inter Milan had to remove snake from away kit for UCL tie | JOE.co.uk
The two Inter Milan away kits for 2021/22 Season
Ajax fans go wild for new 2021-22 'Three Little Birds' Adidas third kit inspired by music legend Bob Marley
Ajax’s Three Little Birds, not included in Champions League 3rd Kit

There were lots of examples of “Kit Mash Ups” in the Group Stages this season, this is when elements of a club’s home / away or 3rd kits are used to create a look to avoid kit clashes, some of my favourte on show were…

Wolfsburg – Away kit with Home socks, worn against Sevilla in Match Day 5

Malmo – Home kit with away socks, worn against Chelsea in Match Day 3

One of my favourite Kit Match Up of the competition so far was included Chelsea again, the Chelsea home kit is unique design and really stands out from other teams for me, with it’s use of vibrant blue works well for me and when they played Juventus in a more classic design than recently seen over the past few seasons, however in this match paired with black socks gave us a nice balance and constrast in kit designs and looks which worked well for me.

Let me know you favourite kits, kit highlights and kit match ups of the Champions League Group Stages from 2021/22 Season in the comments below or over at @Kit_Geek

Ballon d’Or Winners – Kit History

Posted in General, Kit HistoryTagged , , , , 1 Comment

The Ballon d’Or is an annual award presented to best player in the world of that calendar year. Orginally introduced and presented by French magazine “France Football” it is considered the most prestigious individual award for footballers. The award returned in 2021 after not being presented in 2020 due to COVID Pandemic, with Lionel Messi being named the winner for a 7th time.

First awarded in 1956, I thought I would take a look back at the kits worn by the winners over the past 55 years – I will take the kit worn by the winner when presented not the previous season and they club they were playing for when awarded, not country.

1950s

The inaugural Ballon d’Or was won by Englishman Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956, the following three years was won by players from the leading team of the early European Competitions Real Madrid, with Alfredi Di Stefano winning two of these awards. A simple look for kits in these early days but the Blackpool kit did provide a unique look for any winner so far of the award.

1960s

The 60s was the first full decade of the award, with the ten winners coming from eight different countries, with Manchester United providing three winners each from different countries from The United Kingdom. Lev Yashin was also the first (and so far only) goalkeeper to claim the award in 1963, famous for his classic all black look when in goal. Again a simple look to the kits used, Barcelona with their hooped socks being some that sounds out from the other kits used. Manchester United’s three winners all appearing in the same kit across the five years between wins.

1970s

The 70s was dominated by players from German Clubs, with 6 of years won these players, Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich) and Kevin Keegan (Hamburg SV) winning the award twice, of the other four years Johan Cruyff won three of these with both Ajax and Barcelona with Dynamo Kiev’s Oleg Blokhin being the other winner in this decade. This is the first decade where we see a significant change in kit design for one team, Bayern Munich’s first winners in a red / white striped shirt and then later in the decade a classic all red Adidas kit was now in use.

1980s

In the 80s it was Italian Clubs turn to dominate, with two clubs providing seven winners in the 10 years with two players Michel Platini (Juventus) and Marco Van Basten (AC Milan) winning 5 awards between them. Karl Heinz Rummenigge also claim two awards in 1980 and 1981 which completed 6 straight years if German Club dominance of the award until the Italian clubs won 7 of the next 8… the only difference being in 1986 when not who you would think would win in that World Cup year but Igor Belanov of Dynamo Kiev picked up the award. The Juventus kit used by their four winners was their classic kit of the 80s, which included its deep placket.

1990s

Although players from the Italian Clubs won six of the ten awards of the 1990s there seemed to more variety across the decade with no team having winners in consecutive years. There were winners from France, Germany and Spain and this was the first decade where we saw significant kits design changes with more regularity, this can be seen with the two winners from Juventus (Roberto Baggio and Zinedine Zidane) and Barcelona (Hristo Stoichkov and Rivaldo) appearing in very different looks for their respective clubs. Also Matthias Sammer’s win in the fluorescent yellow Nike kit for Borussia Dortmunt introduced a very different colour palette to the historical Ballon d’Or winners.

2000s

The first decade of the 21st Century again so a fairly even spilt of players across some of Europe’s largest clubs, Spain providing five of the winners from Real Madrid and Barcelona, a sign of things to come in the future years. English clubs provided winners for the first time since the 1960s with Liverpool (Michael Owen) and Manchester United (Cristiano Ronaldo). AC Milan provided two winners (Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka) but in very different looks for Italian giants.

2010s

The 2010s Ballon d’Or was dominated by two men, with Lionel Messi taking five award (making it six in total) and Cristiano Ronaldo winning the award four times (five in total), with the other award being that of Luka Modric in 2018 but this meant that the Ballon d’Or did not leave spain through out the decade. This is also showed the change in kit design for the big two Spanish sides, Barcelona changing their traditional stripes look with a variety of thickness of stripe, including one kit with just one central stripe and variety of shades of blue used, as well the one season with horizonital stripes. On the other hand, Real Madrid sticking with their classic all white look but changing the accent colours through the decade with black, orange, different shades of blue and pink all used for their winners kits.

2021

After being cancelled in 2020, and announced on Monday 29th November 2021 the returning Ballon d’Or was won by Lionel Messi, his 7th award overall and the first time he would have received the award not in the colours of Barcelona but of Paris St.Germain. Wearing a less than traditional PSG look but one based on their Air Jordan range with the shorts also designed in the iconic basketball shorts style.

Let me know your favourite kits worn by the winners of Ballon d’Or in the comments below or @Kit_Geek on Twitter.

English Football – Kit Overview 2021/22

Posted in General, Kit NewsTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

As always I like to document the kits worn in a season by the clubs in the English top four leagues, we are still seeing some new kits (3rd Kits) being released over the past few weeks but now feels like the right time to look at the kits worn and their manufacturers.

Premier League

9 Different manufacturers with 60 Kits for 20 teams

  • Adidas – 4 Teams
  • Nike – 4 Teams
  • Umbro – 3 Teams
  • Castore – 2 Teams
  • Hummel – 2 Teams
  • Puma – 2 Teams
  • Joma – 1 Team
  • Kappa – 1 Team
  • Kelme – 1 Team

There has been an increase in the number of manufacturers supplying teams in the Premier League, from 7 last season to 9 this season. Adidas seeing a reduction a of their teams from 7 down to 4, Puma also seeing their kits being cut to 2 from 4. There are kit makers that we did not see in the “EPL” last season appearing in 21/22, these are Castore (Newcastle United and Wolverhamption Wanderers), Joma (Norwich City) and Kelme (Watford). Under Armour being the one manufacturer that we will not see this season as they step away from Football.

Championship

8 Different manufacturers with 68 Kits for 24 teams

  • Macron – 5 Teams
  • Umbro – 5 Teams
  • Puma – 4 Teams
  • Adidas – 3 Teams
  • Hummel – 3 Teams
  • Nike – 2 Teams
  • Errea – 1 Team
  • Joma – 1 Team

The Championship saw a reduction in the kit manufacturers in show this season, last season having 11, the three kit makers not seen are due to promotion and relegation, with Kelme (Watford), O’neills (Wycombe Wanderers) and Elev8 (Sheffield Wednesday – although no longer their kit provider). Macron joining Umbro in supplying the most teams, this looks like a direct link to Blackburn Rovers who swap the “Double Diamond” for the Italian Manufacturer this season.

League One

12 Different manufacturers with 63 Kits for 24 teams

  • Puma – 5 Teams
  • Errea – 3 Teams
  • Macron – 3 Teams
  • Adidas – 2 Teams
  • Nike – 2 Teams
  • Elite Pro Sports – 1 Team
  • FBT – 1 Team
  • Joma – 1 Team
  • O’neills – 1 Team
  • Tag – 1 Team
  • Umbro – 1 Team

In League One there was an increase the number of manufacturers for the 2021/22 from 11 to 12, we say goodbye to Admiral who no longer supply Shrewsbury Town but see Joma (Morecambe) and O’neills (Wycombe Wanderers) in League One this season. There are still 9 teams that do not have a 3rd Kit for this season, so we could see these introduced over the coming months.

League Two

12 Different manufacturers with 65 Kits for 24 teams

  • Errea – 5 Teams
  • Macron – 5 Teams
  • Hummel – 3 Teams
  • Joma – 2 Teams
  • New Balance – 2 Teams
  • Avec – 1 Team
  • Kappa – 1 Team
  • Mills – 1 Team
  • O’neills – 1 Team
  • Player Layer – 1 Team
  • Puma – 1 Team
  • Surridge – 1 Team

League Two also sees an increase in the number of kit manufacturers on show this season, increasing by two to 12 kit makers, with new boys on the block Mills (Tranmere Rovers) and O’neills (Hartlepool Town) being the additional manufacturers. League Two also provides the most single use kit makers, with seven manufacturers providing kits for just one team.

Overall view

20 Kit manufactuerers, 256 different kits for 92 teams

71 Teams (77% of all teams) are supplied by 7 Kit Manufacturers (Macron, Puma, Hummel, Errea, Adidas, Umbro, Nike).

Only 9 teams change kit manufactuer from 2019/20

  • Premier League: Newcastle United / Norwich City / Southampton / Wolverhampton Wanderers
  • Championship: Blackburn Rovers
  • League One: Morecambe / Sheffield Wednesday / Shrewsbury Town
  • League Two: Tranmere Rovers

Harry Kane / England…. 48 & Counting

Posted in General, Kit HistoryTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On Monday 15th November 2021 the England Captain Harry Kane led his team to World Cup Qualification with emphatic 10-0 victory over San Marino, who themselves sporting their 90th Anniversay Kit based on their traditional flag. In the process of this victory, Kane bagged himself a four goal “haul” and becoming the joint 3rd highest goalscorer of the England National Men’s team.

  • Wayne Rooney – 53 Goals in 120 Games
  • Sir Bobby Charlton – 49 in 106
  • Gary Lineker – 48 in 80
  • Harry Kane – 48 in 67

Now, with me enjoying Kits and the stats behind the kits, I wanted to see a breakdown of these goals and the kits that were being worn by Kane.

Overview

Harry Kane made his debut on 27th March 2015 against Lithuania and marked his debut by scoring within 80 seconds of coming on as a second half substitute. The Kit England where wearing that evening was the All White Kit first introduced for the 2014 World Cup.

Harry Kane scoring his first England Goal

In the six and half years (and 66 caps) since that spring evening, Kane has worn 9 different England Kits used in a total of 14 Kit variations, which include the controversial Nike Vapor Templates used for Euro 2016 – One I actually quite like and thought it worked well in both Home and Away forms (but thats a discussion for another time), one 3rd Kit and a variety of different variations of the Home and Away kits.

Breakdown

  • Home Kits – 4 Kits used, 21 Goals Scored
  • Home Kit Variations – 3 Kits used, 13 Goals Scored
  • Away Kits – 3 Kits used, 7 Goals Scored
  • Away Kit Varations – 3 Kits used, 5 Goals Scored
  • 3rd Kit – 1 Kit, 2 goals

Highlights

The Kit that Kane has scored the most goals in is the first choice Home Kit used between 2018 and 2019, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Kane netted a total of 12 goals in this kit, including three Hat-Tricks against Panama (in the World Cup), Bulgaria and Montenegro in the Euro 2020 Qualifying campaign. There were also another 4 goals scored with this kit being used with white shorts.

The England Captain scoring a Hat-Trick against Panama at Russia 2018

The Nike Vapor Template has seen 3 different incarnations for England with Kane scoring in all three kits and counting the variations of socks that have been used a total of 5 different Kit Variations. In total Kane scored 9 goals in these kits

The 5 variations of Vapor Template used by England, all of which Kane scored in

2021 has seen Kane break the record for the most goals scored by an Englishman in a Calendar Year, with 16 goals in his 16 Appearences, this included 7 goals in his last two appreances, the final two qualiyfing matches for World Cup 2022, both games seeing all his goals scored in the first half of each match. In total in 2021, Kane scored 11 goals in the home kit, 5 in the default look with navy shorts and 6 in the all white look, the popular all blue away kit has seen 5 goals netted by the England Captain.

Kane netting a first half Hat-Trick against Albania, November 2021

If Harry Kane keeps this level of scoring up, the record is surely insight within the next year, a World Cup year… I hope to update this when the record is broken.

What are you favourite Kits worn by Harry Kane for England, let me know in the comments below of over at https://twitter.com/kit_geek

The Two Season Kit Wonder

Posted in EFL, General, Kit NewsTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment

On Wednesday 24th November 2021 Brentford FC announced that their home kit for their inaugural Premier League Season will also be rolled over for a second season and will be their home kit for 2022/23 Season.

This is unusual for top flight teams, the last time this was seen in the Premier League was between 2012 and 2014 when Arsenal used their Home kit for two season in a row but this is something more common place in League One and League Two.

So I wanted to share with you the kits that have been used in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

Arsenal’s Home Kit used for 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons

Premier League

There are two examples in this season’s Premier League of kits from last season being used for this season, both are third kits and one is yet to be used yet, these are the all white third kit from the team that kicked off this piece Brentford and the second team is Brighton & Hove Albion, who’s yellow away kit from last season is registred as their 3rd kit this season.

Championship

There are four examples in The Championship this season, all four of these are again as the Premier League teams being used as 3rd Kits in the 2021/22 season with two being 3rd kits last season and two being away kits.

Cardiff City – Last season’s away is this season’s 3rd Kit and the only kit of the four that appeared in The Championship last season, this has yet to be used this season.

Fulham – their yellow away from last season has been used this as the club’s 3rd kit.

Peterborough United – are using the same 3rd Kit in the 2020/21 Promotion winning season from League One in The Championship this season.

Sheffield United – The second team relegated from the 20/21 Premier League season are using their Green / Gold 3rd kit from last season as this season’s 3rd kit as well.

League One

League One is the first division where we see home kits being re-used for a second season, in total there are 10 kits that we have seen for two division.

Accrington Stanley – A big shout here for “Accy” who are using all three of their kits for second season…

AFC Wimbledon – Closely following Accrington Stanley’s lead, AFC Wimbledon are seeing their Home and Away used again this season.

Cheltenham Town – Promoted from League Two last season, they are also using their home shirts again this season, however pairing with black shorts for 21/22 campaign, it was used with white shorts last season.

Fleetwood Town – Their unique Hummel home kit design, gets its second season of use.

Wigan Athletic – The team retained their home kit for 21/22 League Campaign, the second in a row in their 3rd Tier.

Wycombe Wanderers – Another team relegated last season, Wycombe kept both their home and 3rd Kits from last season, both the classic quartered shirt look for The Chairboys.

League Two

There are another 10 kits being used again in League Two this season.

Bristol Rovers – They are using their away kit from last season as a 3rd Kit now.

Colchester United – The Essex team are using both their home and away kits from last again in 21/22, interestingly they used a different home kit in one of their final home games of last season as a “Fans Kit”

Crawley Town – Another team to repurpose their away kit from 2020/21 as their 3rd kit this season, with the all black giving a constraiting alternative to all red home and all blue away.

Exeter City – Exeter are another team that are pairing their shirt from last season with different colour pair of shorts, last season it was black, this season going for an red short / sock combo.

Forest Green Rovers – A club where sustainability is at its heart, have had their current 3rd kit in use for 3 seasons now, introducing it 2019/20 it has seen use in the each of those seasons (thanks to @achrislatham for pointing this one out to me).

Harrogate Town – In their second in the top four divisions, they are using their Away kit again, their 3rd kit this season also made an appearence last season in the delayed FA Trophy final from 2020.

Mansfield Town – their away kit is being used again this season.

Port Vale – Port Vale’s popular all black away kit (partially designed by Robbie Williams) is retained as this season’s 3rd kit.

Sutton United – In their first season in the top four divisions have retained the home and away kits from promotion winning season, they have also introduced a black 3rd kit that gives us all three kits from the same Macron Template for tidy uniform look.

Although not common practise for teams, this still gives us a total of 26 kits re-used in the 2021/22 season that were previously used last season, with Brentford’s annoucement today will this will see this number grow in the 2022/23 season, is Football Shirt Sustainability and increased shirt cycles the future, let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over at https://twitter.com/kit_geek

Champions League 20/21 – Kit Overview, Group Stages

Posted in GeneralTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

On Tuesday 16th February we see the knock out phase of The Champions League start, so I felt it was a good time to look back at the Group Stages and kits that were worn by the 32 teams competing.

Overall Kit Stats:

  • 89 Kits worn in Group Stages – 96 games
  • 42 Home Kits (30 first choice / 12 variations)
  • 27 Away Kits (23 first choice / 4 variations)
  • 19 3rd Kits (15 first choice / 4 variations)
  • 1 4th Kit

Group A

  • Atletico Madrid using 4 different kits in first 4 games
  • Bayern Munich in 3rd kit mash up with home shorts at Atletico
  • Red Bull Salzburg used last seasons Euro away kit (Black)

Group B

  • Only 7 kits used in whole group
  • Real Madrid only team to wear just one kit in Group stages
  • No 3rd kit used in this group
  • Shakhtar Donesk used last season’s kits

Group C

  • Porto used home kit with white shorts not normal blue and all navy for away kit, instead of yellow shorts
  • Olympiakos used 4 different kit variations
  • No team wore a home kit away from home, change kits used in all 12 games

Group D

  • Only 8 kits worn in this group, 2 for each team
  • Ajax only team to wear change kit twice (x2 3rd kit)

Group E

  • 14 Kit variations worn in this Group
  • Chelsea, Krasnodar and Stade Rennes all wore 4 kit variations
  • Sevilla only wore home kit, using alternative red socks in last game at Rennes

Group F

  • Only kit variation used in group was Borussia Dortmund Home kit with alternative yellow shorts
  • Lazio wore 3rd kit at home to Zenit

Group G

  • Barcelona used 4 different kits (home, away, 3rd and last season’s 4th)
  • Dynamo Kyiv only used change kit once
  • Ferencvaros wore away kit at home to Dynamo Kyiv

Group H

  • 15 kit variations worn in the group
  • Manchester United wore 5 kit variations in their 6 games (only 3rd kit was worn twice)
  • Basaksehir / RB Leipzig both wore 3 varations of home kit in first 3 games

Matchday Breakdowns:

Match Day 1
Match Day 2
Match Day 3
Match Day 4
Match Day 5
Match Day 6

Some of my favourite kit match ups in the group stages.

Zenit St Petersburg v Lazio from Match Day 2 and Juventus v Ferencvaros from Match Day 3.

Any kit highlights from you from the Champions League within the Group stages, let me know on the comments below or over at twitter on https://twitter.com/kit_geek