Tag: Adidas

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

Cricket World Cup: England ODI Kits

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The 13th Cricket World Cup will be “kicking off” on Thursday 5th October, being held in India who are hosting the tournament on their own for the first time, previously “Co-Hosting” in 1987, 1996 and 2011.

England will be kicking off the competition at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad where they will play New Zealand, who they beat by the “barest of margins” in the 2019 Final.

I want to take some time to look at the “ODI” (One Day International) colours worn by England through-out the tournament’s history, from 1992 up to the current 2023 competition and will rate each kit out of 5 Stars!

1975 to 1987

First, a quick overview of the those earlier tournaments, there were four competitions here with England hosting the first three (1975, 1979, 1983) and India / Pakistan hosting in 1987, These tournaments were all completed with Countries wearing the traditional whites, with the England Team barely changing their look over these 12 years!

1992: Australia / New Zealand

Welcome to modern cricket, coloured clothing, the return of South Africa, new ways to calculate rain effected matches… the Cricket World Cup was about to change!

The Biggest Change was the introduction of coloured kit for each country, there was a nice uniformity to the kit with all countries having the “rainbow” element across the shoulders of the shirt and names were introduced to the back of players shirts. The shirts were produced by Australia Manufacture Hogger Sports.

Each Country was a different colour and England were in Sky Blue, a colour used before the country in their tours of Australia and the ODI Competitions on those tours of the late 80s and early 90s.

England CWC Performance:

  • Runners Up
  • 2nd in League Phase (9 Countries)
  • Total Games – 10 (6 Wins, 3 Lost, 1 No Result)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

1996: Pakistan / India / Sri Lanka

The second Cricket World Cup that saw a uniformity in the kit design of coloured clothing, with all Twelve (increased from 1992) Countries in the same “Template” with each country in it’s own colour. Again a “Rainbow” element was part of this design, this kits were produced by Rolex Hosiery a Delhi based clothing company and Wills was a brand of cigarettes made by the India Tobacco Company who sponsored the 96 World Cup – thank you to Andy Rockall (@Statto_74) for this information.

England had a darker shade of Blue for this tournament not quite a Royal Blue but certainly darker than England had been seen in before with coloured cricket clothing becoming more and more common place in the International matches, again there were player names on the shirts.

England CWC Performance:

  • Quarter-Finals
  • 4th in Group B
  • Total Games – 6 (2 Wins, 4 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

1999: England / Wales / Scotland / Ireland / Netherlands

The Cricket World Cup returned to England but this time with 5 Countries in Total hosting games across Europe. The 1999 Tournament was the final time that there was just one company making all the kits for the 12 countries participating in this competition, with Asics. The Japanese sports manufacturer produced bespoke kits for all Nations, each using elements of their National Crests into the shirt desgin.

Another first in Cricket World Cup History was Squad Numbers, which paired with player names on the shirts were used in this tournament, the numbers used were just 1-15 (as we see in Internation Football tournaments), rather than the free for all with numbers we see now.

England’s blue kit was another shade of blue, not as dark as the previous World Cup but it was the first time red was included in the kit as additional detail, something that would be part of the England kits for the next 12 years in World Cups.

England CWC Performance:

  • Group Stage
  • 4th in Group A
  • Total Games – 5 (3 Wins, 2 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐

2003: South Africa / Zimbabwe / Kenya

2003 Tournament was the first to be held in Africa and became the first tournament when countries could use their own Kit Suppliers in the competition, as well as players using their own numbers from ODI Cricket, so numbers 1-99 could be used by players.

Another first was that the Country names appeared on the front of the shirts, something seen in tournaments to this day and probably linked to the introduction of sponsors being front and centre of cricket playing shirts (as we see in football), having the country name across the chest and sponsor moving to the sleeve, reduced the visibility of sponsors to International Shirts.

England had moved on from Asics and were supplied by Admiral, the first time Admiral had supplied kits for England in a World Cup since the football team in 1982! A return to darker blue, probably the darkerst blue used up to that point by the team.

England CWC Performance:

  • Group Stage
  • 4th in Pool A
  • Total Games – 6 (3 Wins, 3 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐

2007: West Indies

The Cricket World Cup Circus moved to The Caribbean for the first time and it was the second tournament where the England ODI kit was supplied by Admiral, meaning the classic football kit manufacturer made more appreances in the Cricket World Cup than the Football World Cup for the English National Team.

The red of this kit was a more prominent feature of this kit’s aesthic increasing more the previous two incarnations, this kit was paired with asymmetric red sleeves and trousers.

For me the most dull ODI Kit seen in World Cups for England and what would be the end of the England x Admiral Relationship.

England CWC Performance:

  • Super 8 Stage
  • 2nd in Group C
  • 5th in Super 8 Group
  • Total Games – 9 (5 Wins, 4 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐

2011: Bangladesh / India / Sri Lanka

In the years between 2007 and 2011 World Cups the England team moved kit manufacturers and were now with Adidas, not necessarily known for the work in the cricketing world but produced some wonderful kits for the team, including a shift to a very dark shade of blue, a colour which was worn in the team’s first victory in an ICC International Tournament winning the T20 World Cup in 2010.

For this World Cup which returned to the Asian Continent, the dark blue was paired with Red Sleeves providing a new look in design for the English Team and one of the best seen in The Cricket World Cup.

England CWC Performance:

  • Quarter-Finals
  • 3rd in Group B
  • Total Games – 7 (3 Wins, 3 Lost, 1 Tie)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

2015: Australia / New Zealand

The pattern of going darker and darker with the shades of blue used by the English Team was broken in the 2015 Tournament in Australia and New Zealand, with a return to Royal Blue shirts, not seen since 1999. Again partnered with Adidas, the shirt also included a pattern of one the “Three Lions” of the National Crest, similar to what we have seen with 1992 England Football 3rd Shirt.

However, there was a change to overall look with the shirt paired with navy trousers and caps, to provide an overall two-tone blue ODI Kit, something not seen before in World Cups for team, another win for me of the England x Adidas years, in their final collaboration for World Cup ODI Kits.

England CWC Performance:

  • Group Stage
  • 5th in Pool A
  • Total Games – 6 (2 Wins, 4 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐

2019: England / Wales

A return to Sky Blue for England, who hosted the tournament for the 5th Time and manufacturers New Balance pulled off a wonderful homage to the kit worn in 1992 with a shoulder design reminciant to that kit but using various shades of blue with red trim to deliver one of the most iconic England kits in any sport (yes the result also might have something to do with that!!)

The Sky Blue look was only ever used for the World Cup, the shirt was paired with Navy Trousers after this tournament.

A first of this tournement was the introduction of “Alternative” Shirts / Kits for colour clashes, something not normally asscioated (or needed) with cricket, it did provide a new talking point for Kit Lovers like ourselves! India, one of the teams that changed when they played England.

England CWC Performance:

  • WINNERS
  • 3rd in League Phase (10 Countries)
  • Total Games – 11 (8 Wins, 3 Lost)
  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2023: India

For this World Cup the English Team will be doned in a Castore Kit, the 5th Kit Manufacturer since 1999 and their 3rd different one in the last 3 World Cups. It is a return to Royal Blue and back to some red detailing within the shirt and to give us an overall look that was reminiscent to what was seen in 2015.

It will be interesting to see if we see “Away” kits used in this tournament, and if England do use one would they use the current Red T20 Shirt which is paired with Navy Trousers as well.

As no performance stats can be shared yet, I will just provide my rating of the Kit.

  • ODI Kit Rating – ⭐⭐⭐

Cricket World Cup Kit Firsts…

  • 1992 – Coloured Clothing and Player Names
  • 1999 – Squad Numbers, 1 to 15
  • 2003 – Countries own Kit Manufacturers
  • 2003 – Player numbers could be anything between 1-99
  • 2003 – Country Names on Front of shirts
  • 2019 – Away Kits for Colour Clashes
  • 2023 – ???

So there we have it, my deep dive into England Cricket ODI Kits of the World Cups, did my ratings line up with your views of these looks, let me know your thoughts and comments below or at @Kit_Geek

England v Scotland, not looking like England v Scotland

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On Tuesday 12th September Scotland will host England at Hampden Park in the 150th Anniversary Heritage Match to mark the first meeting between the two sides in 1872. This is part of the year of events from the Scottish FA to celebrate the history of the association.

The original match is recognised by FIFA as football’s first-ever international match, at The West of Scotland Cricket Club in Glasgow, in front of a crowd of 4000 People.

The kits of the first match set the tone of majority of the 115 meetings between the two nations with Scotland in dark blue shirts. (however, not the origin of the blue Scotland shirt) and England wore white shirts. England wore caps, while the Scots wore red cowls.

When you think of England v Scotland in terms of kits the traditional look is often considered as the following…

Scotland – Navy Blue Shirts / White Shorts / Red Socks (occasionly Navy Socks with red turnovers)

England – White Shirts / Navy Blue Shorts / White Socks

However….

As part of the qualification of the 2018 World Cup, Scotland and England were drawn together in Group F and the Kit Designs of that time from Nike (England) and Adidas (Scotland) were the following…

Scotland’s Primary Kit was paired with white sleeves and navy socks, with England’s Primary Kit having “Sky Blue” sleeves and Red socks… and created what was considered to be a sleeve clash between the two kits

So when the two teams met in their group games, secondary kits were used by the Away Country to give a new look for both games of this most historic of International fixtures…

On 11th November 2016, the match at Wembley (3-0 to England) gave us Scotland in their Pink Secondary Kit, with Black Shorts and Socks…

The return fixture at Hampden Park on June 10th 2017 (finishing 2-2), saw England in their secondary kit paired with Red Home socks to give an all red look for The Three Lions.

Both fixtures proved controversial in terms of kits, traditionalists on both sides expressed their disappointment on the choice of kits of the countries, however given the kit guidelines of the time there was no option for the primary kits to be used in this campaign.

An “honourable” mention to when the two countries met in Group D of Euro 2020 at Wembley on 18th June 2021, in the goal-less draw the teams wore just a single colour each, with England in All White and Scotland in All Navy, this due to the default Scotland look being all Navy at this Tournament, but those complaining at what happened in 2016/17 should take comfort in the fact that both nations wear in their Primary Shirt Colours.

For the match on Tuesday 12th September 2023, Scotland will wear their special 150th Anniversary Kit which was first worn in the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Cyprus on 25th March 2023, this will be the second and final appearence of this quite wonderful kit.

England, although wearing their current default Primary Kit from Nike for the actual match, they will be wear a one-off Pre-Match Shirt containing the National Crest worn in 1872…. many fans commenting that should this kit be worn in the actual game… I will let you decide your opionion on that one!

There we have it, England v Scotland, not looking like England v Scotland, let me know your thoughts in the comments below and of course all shares of this post are appreciated.

World Cup ’22 Kit Log – Group Stage Round 1

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The World Cup is well and truly underway, we have now seen each of the 32 Nations take to the field, so time to have a look at the kits worn so far by each of the teams.

I am still not 100% sure whether the “Home” and “Away” kit labels are completely correct when it comes to International Tournaments, I will refer to them as “Primary” and “Secondary” choice kits.

Groups A and B

A few stats….

For the total of 32 kit appearances, we have seen “Primary” Kits (and variations) used 87.5% and “Secondary” kits (and variations) used 12.5% of the time, with only four Nations in their secondary kit!

Primary – 22

Primary variations – 6 (Ecuador, USA, Wales, Argentina, Spain, Cameroon)

Secondary – 3

Secondary variations – 1 (Saudi Arabia) 

Groups C and D

A part from the Day 1 and Day 2 (which totalled 4 games), we are seeing 4 games a day, so the tournament is motoring along now and it is great to see the kits finally on display.

Adidas wearing coming into the tournament with some of the best kits on show and they have not disappointed in action, with Japan being a particular highlight. One downside from the Adidas Kit point of view was seeing Spain in all red, rather than the default navy shorts and socks, from what I understand this was driven by FIFA and both Spainish Federation and Adidas preferring to use navy in this game.

One thing that seems to have reduced from recent World Cups, is single colour kits… so far there has been only 5 games which we have seen both teams in a single colour for their full kit (I am including Senegal in this who do have a multi-coloured chest chevron), I hope this is something that continues through the rest of the tournament.

Groups E and F

Canada appearing in their first World Cup since 1986 have been dealt a bit a raw deal with their Kit Situation, based on the contract they currently have with Nike means they are the only team at this World Cup that are not in a “New” Kit but one they have had in place since 2021. I am sure this will change in the next Tournament where the Canadians are Co-Hosts.

Groups G and H

Switzerland v Cameroon gave us the unusual site of red v green, often not allowed due to impacts of colourblind supporters / viewers, the contrast in this particular match up was given by just yellow Cameroon socks, normally its the shorts that are changed to give the contrast between the kits.

Overall kit highlights for me…

Argentina v Saudi Arabia Kit Match up, the best so far for me.. Argentina in alternative black socks, Saudi Arabia in Away shirt / Home shorts and socks mash up, what’s not to like here!

The subtle detail in the Wales Shirt… yes it is a template shirt but that does not make it bad thing, the detail works really well and give the shirt a lttle more depth!

Japan’s Primary Kit, a favourite amougst the Kit Community and it’s clear to see why.. the detail in the shirt works well and the use of red trim and yellow numbers also gives the kit a different feel…. could the pattern also be on the back of the shirt, maybe… but we can’t have it all!

Nike have received some critisim for the kits they have produced for the World Cup but the France Primary Kit is one of the best on their roster. I tweeted about how nice it would have been for the boots to be gold here as well, creating a fully complementary kit look with the gold details.

Well, why not… what an image to capture the moment and the kit…!!

Round 1 of games is now complete, what are your favourite kits on show and will we see more variations of kits through out round 2 of games? Let me know in the comments below of over at @Kit_Geek on Twitter

The Heat Press – Issue 18

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Time for Issue Number 18 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 17 click here

The Headlines

  • 2022 / 23 Kit Launches
  • New Kit Deals
  • Adidas International Men x Women
  • England’s 4th Goalkeeper Kit

2022 / 23 Kit Launches

Kit Launches are coming thick and fast, so here some of the releases these past few weeks…

Newcastle United – The 2nd home kit produced by Castore, see a thinner stripe to the home shirt return and with some blue accents on all elements of the kit. The one question remains the sponsor, with rumours that the sponsorship will change before the start of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur – Now in their 6th season with their partnership with Nike, the new Spurs home kit sees a return of flashes of yellow in the shirt and socks, however one thing this does do in introduce another colour to the shirt, with Navy, Red, Purple already appearing on the white shirt, too much?? Maybe for some!

West Ham United – The Hammers look to the past for influence to their 22/23 kit, which is based on the Bukta kit from 1991/93 with its unique sleeve pattern.

A surprise to the kit was to see it match with blue shorts and claret socks, the shorts being a highlight for me, reminding me of the Umbro shorts from late 80s.

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Wolves are another team going into their 2nd season with Castore, this kit seems to a simplier version of their last home kit, with just a small amout of black detailing on the shirt this coming season.

Stoke City – It is going to take a lot to beat the way Stoke City have advertised and launced their new kit range, launching Home, Away and 3rd kits over a course of few days but showing how they intend to use their kits this season in a variety of mash ups, this Kit Geek was very excited to see this graphic!

This will be the first time that Stoke City have released a 3rd Kit since their 2017 / 18 season, their last in the Premier League.

Cambridge United – Hummel delivering another bespoke kit for The U’s, a nod to the “Influence” kits from 1991/93 with pattern within the shirt itself…

Stevange – Launching both home and away shirts, the away see the purple remaining as a change colour for the club who used it as their 3rd kit colour last season but the home is a radical change in look with black forming a significant part of the shirt in the body and sleeves for a unique look for the League Two Club.

FC Barcelona – I mentioned on Twitter that I believe this is one of the best home kits produced by Nike for the Catalans, a wonderful take on their classic look, with use of Navy across all elements of the kit working perfectly for me… a great kit!!

New Kit Deals

Although no kits been launched as yet, there has been some confirmation of new kit deals for some clubs over the past week or so…

Aston Villa x Castore

Aston Villa also took to Social Media to thank Kappa for their support, a nice touch I thought.

Ipswich Town x Umbro – This will be interesting to see if they take any influence from the shirts of the early 90s, a return of the laced collar!

MK Dons x Castore

Oxford United x Macron

Adidas International Men x Women

Adidas used some of their International Men’s teams to help launch their new Kit range for the International Women ahead of the upcoming Euros in England.

Belgium – A great look with Black / Red / Red

Germany – who may be in spot of bother with FIFA, as the Women’s shirt only has two stars, not the four that normally appear on the Men’s kit!

Spain – Something classic about this Spanish Shirt!

England’s 4th Goalkeeper Kit

In their Nation’s League Game against Germany, England and Jordan Pickford used a red version of the Nike Goalkeeper template, this was the 4th variation used after Yellow, Green and Black..

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 Episode of The Football Kit Podcast is now out, this time we take a more detailed look at one club’s kits, with Newcastle United being that club, Les, Denis and I were joined by Gavin Haigh for a wonderful dicussion about The Magpies’ kits over the years, you can check out the podcast on my page or use this link to listen directly here

Another Podcast to check out is The Price of Football, in general a wonderful podcast looking into the “Finances Behind the Beautiful Game”… one episode I really want to recommend is from Thursday 2nd June where there is a facsinating interview with Hummel’s Mark Underwood. The podcast can be found here

Our Friends over at Talking Kit have ended their first series of “Full Kit Rankers”, make sure you check out their YouTube Channel, check out their episodes discussing kits from AFCON to EFL to Champions League

I have always considered Football Kits as a form of art work, well Christopher K Art has taken this one step further, with this wonderful abstract painting of the 2021/22 Millwall Home shirt, I might be biased (I know I am) but this would be fantastic hanging on my wall…!

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 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 11

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After a little break its now time for Issue Number 11 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 10 click here

The Headlines

  • Teams supporting Ukraine
  • Borussia Dortmund – Kit Design Competition
  • Italy confirmed to Adidas
  • Bury AFC Kit Vote
  • Las Vegas Lights x Meyba

Teams supporting Ukraine

There have seen several examples of English Football teams using their kits to show solidatory with Ukraine over the past few weeks.

Ipswich Town v Lincoln City – Ipswich Town in all blue and Lincon City in their 3rd kit to create a Blue / Yellow look for the match

Brighton and Hove Albion wore their 3rd Kit (last season’s away) at home against Liverpool in Premier League, the shirts were auctioned off after the game to raise money for supporting charities.

Sunderland wore their away kit at home against Crewe Alexandra

I would expect we continue to see similar shows of support over the coming weeks.

Borussia Dortmund – Kit Design Competition

As discussed in Issue 4 of The Heat Press, Borussia Dortmund introduced a competition to design their home kit for 2023/24 season. This has now got the stage of the final designs, our friends at Kit Mag pulled together this wonderfull graphic to show the finalists in the competition.

Voting ends this week on 18th March, where you can vote for your top 3 kits – https://kit.bvb.de/en

For me its the Top Middle, and the bottom two as shown in the graphic!

Italy to Adidas

Following the rumours that have been circulating since the start of the year, it was confirmed that the Italian National team will have their kits supplied by Adidas from January 2023.

It will not be the first time that The Azzuri have kits supplied by Adidas having provided playing and training kit between 1974 and 1978, however this did not carry the classic “Three Stripe” branding and as all kit lovers, we are keen to see if they adopt the three colours of the flag in their stripes as seen with the Italian Rugby team in 2014.

Bury AFC – Kit Vote

Bury AFC, the fan owned Phoenix club are offering their fans the opportunity to vote on the clubs kit for the next season, with Hope+Glory providing the kits for the club, some interesting designs on offer, I would go for option E, there are some Admiral vibes to this shirt that I like. The final kit will be used for the following two seasons.

Las Vegas Lights – 2022 Shirts

Las Vegas Lights a team well known in the Kit Community, who play in the USL Championship in United States have released their Home and Away Kits for the 2022 Season. The kits are produced by Classic Spanish manufactuerer Meyba (think Gary Lineker at Barcelona) and take inspriation from the City in their design, the Home based on the famous “Las Vegas Strip” and Away based on the region around the city, each design using colour well to highlight these elements.

On a personal note, I am off to Vegas later this year, so hoping to take a game whilst I am there.

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

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

Episode 8 of The Football Kit Podcast is now out, in this episode Les, Denis and I discuss Change Kits, we look we each take a postive and negative view of change kits.

A snap shot of our discussion can seen below…

You can find the podcast here or at your Podcast App of choice

With the annoucement of Italy soon to be wearing Adidas Kits has seen many concept kit designs from the Community, I wanted to call out @hendocfc who produced this wonderful take on what the shirt would look like.

I particularly like the collar and after seeing it was inspired by another passion of mine Formula 1, with the current Alfa Romeo rear wing.

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

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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.

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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 2

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Time for Issue Number 2 of The Heat Press, if you have not read Issue 1 you can find it here – The Heat Press – Issue 1

This will be regular look at what is going on within the Kit World and Kit Community.

The Headlines

  • The Kitsman Awards, The Winners
  • #NoHomeKit – Who took part?
  • Adidas Logo change?

The Kitsman Awards

On Thursday 23rd December, The Kitsman hosted the 2021 Kit Awards, I wanted to highlighted the winners of each section in case it was missed…

The categories…

Best Tweet – @CavershamUnited for this winning tweet “Alexa? What’s Sunday League Football”

Best Collection – @NorwichShirts

Knows their Kit – @museumofjerseys

Best Contributer – @LaCasacaBlog

Best Photography – @aleksandarjason

Best Charity Fundraiser – @fsfcUK

Best Concept Shirt Designer – @thekitfactor

Best Independent Store – @niclassicshirt

Best Mystery Shirt Box Company – @BundesligaBoxes

Best Video Content – @_Spark_Academy

Best Creative Content – @KitKingdom83

Best Artist – @yoniweisberg

Best Verified Account – @TyBracey

Best Audio / Podcast – @ShirtsPod

Best Twitter Account 2021 – @The_Kitsman

A huge congratulations to all the winners and the finalists in each award, I also want to thank Josh over at The Kitsman for pulling this all together, it brought a lot positivity to the Kit Community but also highlighted many great accounts that are out there in the “Twitter-sphere” at the moment, check out the Kitsman timeline to find some wonderful kit content!

Shelter’s No Home Kit

Although the traditional Boxing day fixtures were severly impacted by postponments due to the current COVID-19 situation in England, we did see a couple of teams embracing this initiative….

Oldham Athletic at home to Scunthorpe United

Tranmere Rovers at home to Barrow AFC

A Special call out to Dulwich Hamlet, who also had Shelter as their Sponsor on their away kit and are auctioning their shirts to raise money for the campaign.

Adidas to change logo?

It has been reported over the last week or so that Adidas will be changing their logo from late 2022, to coincide with 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The new logo will see a slight change in the alignment of the traditional 3 Stripes and the removal of the “adidas” word mark… with those Counties with their kits manufactured by Adidas participating in the World Cup being the first kits seen with the new logo.

Full details can be found over at Footy Headlines – Link to Article click here

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

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

The guys over at Kit Mag ran a knock competition to find their follower’s Kit of 2021, the winner was the Liverpool Away kit beating Venezia away in the final with 64% of the vote.

Andorra’s Ildefons Lima Solà gave away one of Match Worn shirts as part of a Christmas giveaway and added a nice touch by signing the number

This wonderful picture was shared by @TRiCKETTengland highlighting the kits worn on 1984/85 Serie A Season

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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

Premier League One Kit Wonders – 2019/20

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As we approach the final round of fixtures of the 2019/20 Premier League season, its always to time to take stock and look back the season and reminisce over the good and bad of the latest season.

There will be plenty of looking back at the season from me over the coming weeks but I wanted to kick this off by looking back at those kits that were only worn once this season.

So far we have seen 107 different kits worn in the Premier League and in this post I want to call out the 24 Kits that have been worn just once, our “One Kit Wonders”.

Arsenal

Southampton v Arsenal, 25th June 2020

Arsenal’s popular away kit, that pays homage to the classic “Brusied Banana” kit, was worn in their 2-0 victory at Southampton with yellow shorts, giving an all yellow look which was also used with the “Bruised Banana” kit against Southampton back in 1991.

AFC Bournemouth

Watford v AFC Bournemouth, 26th October 2019

Bournemouth’s draw at Watford saw the south coast team pair their home shirt with white shorts and socks, giving them a classic AC Milan look.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v AFC Bournemouth, 24th June 2019

One of the (minor) impacts of “Project Restart” was that some clubs had sponsorship deals ending, which in turn saw new kits launched with a significant number of games still to play. Bournemouth was one of these teams, who wore their 2020/21 Home kit from Umbro (with holding sponsor Vitality). This was worn with white shorts and socks in the 1-0 defeat at Wolves in June.

Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth, 4th July 2020

The visit to Manchester United saw Bournemouth use their 2020/21 away kit from Umbro, with a graphic of the famous Bouremouth Pier sublimated onto the aqua shirts, similar to the Manchester United umbro shirt from 1994/96 which had Old Trafford on their shirts. It did not prove a lucky shirt with The Cherries losing 5-3 in this kit’s only appearence.

Brighton and Hove Albion

Newcastle United v Brighton and Hove Albion, 21st September 2019

With Brighton’s away kit being all black it meant that The Seagulls reached into the back of the Kitman’s cupboard at The Amex to pull out 2018/19 away kit to be used as this season’s third kit. In this drawn game it was worn for the only time this season with white shorts.

Aston Villa v Brighton and Hove Albion, 19th October 2019

Brighton’s second “One Kit Wonder” was their home kit worn with blue socks in a defeat at Aston Villa.

Burnley FC

West Ham United v Burnley FC, 8th July 2020

When Burnley visited a fellow Claret/Blue wearing West Ham, it was deemed that their away kit (All Sky Blue) and 3rd Kit (Green/Black) were not enough of a contrast to hosts home kit, Umbro created a one off white shirt to be worn with white shorts and socks to make a “4th Kit”, one of three 4th Kits seen this season and has a 100% win ratio in its use.

Chelsea

Crystal Palace v Chelsea, 7th July 2020

Chelsea’s new sponsorship deal with “3” started on the 1st July, this meant the 2020/21 kits were brought into action at the end of this season. The pale blue away kit saw it first and only appearence of this season in the 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace.

Everton

Crystal Palace v Everton, 10th August 2019

Looking way back to first round of fixtures of the 2019/20 season, Everton were asked by the Premier League to use their third kit from 2018/19 as the “coral” away and navy 3rd kits supplied by Umbro were seen to be too much of a clash to their visit to Crystal Palace, the game ended in a draw and is the one of the three “4th” kits seen used this season.

Manchester United v Everton, 15th December 2019

Everton’s second “One Kit Wonder” was the variation of their home kit, worn with blue shorts that The Toffees wore in their drawn game at Manchester United.

Leicester City

West Ham United v Leicester City, 28th December 2019

Leicester City often use variations of their home kit to avoid unnecessary use of their change kits, their 2-1 win at West Ham saw using their home kit with white socks, a combination only used once this season.

Manchester United

Southampton v Manchester United, 31st August 2019

Manchester United have worn their 3rd kit three times in the Premier League this season, in three different variations, the first worn with white shorts (bespoke to this kit, not the home shorts which have red Adidas stripes) at the drawn game at Southampton.

Sheffield United v Manchester United, 24th November 2019

The second use of the 3rd kit was at Sheffield United with bespoke white shorts and socks, the game ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Arsenal v Manchester United, 1st January 2020

The final appearence of the Manchester United 3rd kit was its only use in its first choice all black variation, the game at Arsenal ended in defeat which means they did not win a single game using their 3rd Kit in the League this season.

Sheffield United

Chelsea v Sheffield United, 31st August 2019

Sheffield United’s versitle white away kit has been used in four different combination this season, the use of white shorts and red (home kit) socks was only used the once, to give us a nice looking kit, the red socks work really well with red Adidas stripes on side panels and shorts, the red flowing through out the kit. The game ended in a draw in what has been an inspresive return to the Top Flight for The Blades.

Newcastle United v Sheffied United, 21st June 2020

Sheffield United’s second “One Kit Wonder” was a variation of their home kit, combined with away shorts and socks to give us an overall “white” feel to their home kit. The kit did not prove a lucky one with the game ending in a 0-3 defeat.

Southampton FC

Newcastle United v Southampton, 8th December 2019

Southampton’s use of their 2018/19 3rd Kit at Newcastle United was called for due to the three kits registered for 2019/20 all clashing with Newcastle’s home kit, this is third and final 4th Kit used this season and the only one that was used by the losing team, the kit was combined with home shorts and socks.

Tottenham Hotspur

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur, 15th December 2019

Tottenham’s visit to Wolves in December saw them use their home socks with their away kit, to give us a Navy/Navy/White variation, tying in nicely with Nike’s Vapor Template’s use of contrasting socks. The game ended in victory for Spurs with an injury time winning goal.

Watford

Newcastle United v Watford, 31st August 2019

Watford are another team that used their away kit from 2018/19 as a 3rd kit for 2019/20, the only appearence of this kit was their visit to Newcastle United back in August. This is the least used 3rd in the League and its only use ended in a draw.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford, 28th September 2019

The second “One Kit Wonder” from Watford was a variation of their away kit used with white socks which was seen in their defeat at Wolves.

West Ham United

Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United, 4th December 2019

West Ham’s home kit from Umbro was a popular one with fans, when worn against Wolves it was paired with sky blue shorts and socks for a variation that still gives a strong West Ham feel, this did not prove sucessful on the pitch, with the game ending in defeat.

Newcastle United v West Ham United, 5th July 2020

This is the 3rd variation of West Ham’s home kit, this time combined with sky blue socks was used in the drawn game at Newcastle United.

Manchester United v West Ham United, 22nd July 2020

In the final away game of the season at Manchester United, West Ham used their away kit with change Sky Blue shorts, to give us again an alternative but classic West Ham look. The game ended in a draw.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 23rd November 2019

Wolves’ home kit in 2019/20 was paired with black shorts and socks, surprisingly an alternative of the kit was only used once this season with “old gold” socks in the victory at Bournemouth.

The 24 games in which our “One Kit Wonders” were worn, saw 6 wins, 10 draws and 8 defeats.

There are still the final ten games of the season to be played, so there may be some changes to this final list, Brighton in particular I can see using their home kit with blue socks in their game at Burnley, Sheffield United may use a different variation of their 3rd kit in their game at Southampton and at the moment Manchester City have only used their 2020/21 Home kit once in their victory at Watford but with their final game being at home at likely to wear this kit again in this game which is why I have not included in them in this overview.

Let me know what your favourite “One Kit Wonder” of the 2019/20 Premier League Season at https://twitter.com/kit_geek

UPDATED – MATCH DAY 38

On the final round of fixtures of season, we saw six teams launch their new home kits…. increasing our “One Kit Wonders” to 30…. All fixtures took place on 26th July.

Arsenal

Arsenal v Watford

Arsenal’s victory at relegated Watford give us the first view of the new Adidas 2020/21 Home kit, a darker shade of red than 19/20 version with the use of red socks as first choice!

Brighton & Hove Albion

Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton’s new home kit is a really interesting change from their traditional look, one the club has used in the past as points but something new and fresh for their 2020/21 Premier League campaign, its debut was victorious one with a 2-1 win at Burnley.

Leicester City

Leicester City v Manchester United

Leicester City revert to all blue for 20/21 season with this Adidas Convido 20 Template! Their 2-0 defeat cost the team and this kit a place in the Champions League next season.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United v Liverpool

Newcastle’s 2020/21 Kit sees the magpies use thinner stripes than 19/20, but the red numbers remain (something I love to see in a Newcastle Kit) and check out them socks…!!! Its first outing ended in 3-1 defeat to Champions Liverpool.

Southampton

Southampton v Sheffield United

Southampton are ditchng the stripes in 2020/21 in favour of a sash…. I love a sash, so this looks great in my eyes, Southampton ended the season in style beating high flying Sheffield United 3-1.

West Ham United

West Ham United v Aston Villa

West Ham are our final team introducing their new kit in 2019/20 season, a return to white shorts and socks paired with a more traditional looking shirt, the drawn game with Aston Villa saw the visitors stay up on the last day of the season.

So there we have it, the 30 “One Kit Wonders”, our final record sees 9 wins, 11 draws and 10 defeats!