Tag: Championship

The Heat Press ’25: Kit Round up, 4th July

Posted in EFL, General, Kit History, Kit News, The Heat PressTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

The Heat Press returns for issue number 3 of it’s summer series looking at the kits released in English Football over the last few days, with 26 new kits launched since Issue 2.

The first two can be found here – Issue 1 and Issue 2

A reminder that I will take a regular look at the Kits launched across the English Leagues and beyond, the discussion points and anything else Kit Related that comes up over these pre-season weeks.

I will only share those kits that have been officially released, as there are plenty of leaks that do the rounds but we will keep those official launches.

You will also find my Kit Overview illustrations for each of the four divisions which will used to document the Kit Usage of all 92 English Clubs.

Premier League – 20 / 60 Kits

New Kits:

Brighton & Hove Albion, Away: Just a day after releasing their Home Kit, Brighton launched their Away, and it’s an Ajax style design in 2 tone purple, nice to another colour added to the Premier League colour palette. With this they become the first team to complete their “Kit Set” for the season ahead.

Burnley, Home: The second offering from Castore and Burnley move away from light blue sleeves for the first time since 2016 / 17 season, using the club’s traditional light blue in cuff and collar. There is a subtle map detail within the shirt with mapping and the contour lines of the surrounding hills.

West Ham United, Home: This will be last West Ham / Umbro Home Kit as The Hammers will move to New Balance next season after 11 seasons. Not much Sky Blue in this final kit and given some of the home kits produced by Umbro over their partnership this kit is not really going out in style.

Sunderland, Away: Its a blue Away kit for Sunderland on the return to the Premier League, a re-imagining of the Hummel kit worn between 1989 and 1990, it also pays tribute to Sunderland’s maritime identity, the kit features a “bespoke pattern inspired by the view of the Roker Beach lighthouse”.

Leeds United, Home: The new Leeds kit from Adidas is everything you would expect from Leeds United Home Kit, with some nice yellow / blue detailing in the collar and cuffs.

Brentford, Home: This is the first kit in the Joma / Brentford partnership and its a good one, celebrating the club playing in red and white for 100 years this is a nice design, interesting collar which feels like a modern take on a laced up collar. The replica version will carry stripes on the back of the shirt, however the authentic (player) version will have a red block on the back in line with Premier League regulations.

Championship – 16 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Middlesbrough, Home: Another club who have moved to Castore, this first offering is everything you would expect from a Middlesbrough Home Kit, with its classic look that appears to be delivered well.

Southampton, Home: Southampton in their second season with Puma and have been delivered a much better looking shirt than last season, taking homage to one of their classic looks from 70s.

Charlton Athletic, Away: It’s interesting design for Charlton’s Away, the white / blue / grey kit contains a pattern of fish scales, but it is not as random as you may first think… the kit “pays tribute to legendary local fishmonger Arthur Bryan. Charlton’s nickname, The Addicks, originates from the haddock meals Bryan provided to players”

Derby County, Home: Its a return to a classic Puma x Derby look from the 90s, with the use of black / white sleeves, with this wonderful Puma template that has delivered so many good looks so far this season.

Norwich City, Home: This is the 5th season of the Norwich / Joma partnership and this again delivers what you would expect from a Norwich Home Kit, there some detail in collar and cuff which is inspired by a kit look in the 90 from Mitre.

Watford, Home: Kelme have often taken a chance with Watford Home Kits and this one is no different with red stripes included in the shirt, the kit is paired with red shorts and socks as was also seen last season.

Blackburn Rovers, 3rd: This 3rd Kit is based on the local council’s “Coat of Arms”, using a dark green shades to create their iconic halved shirts in another look.

League One – 31 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Wigan Athletic, Home: The Wigan / Puma partnership continues for eighth season, this new home shirt has an interesting “yolk” shoulder panel to break the traditional stripes up, that looks like it is taking inspiration from 2005 / 06 Shirt (the club’s first season in Premier League).

Peterborough United, Away: It’s an olive green away kit for The Posh on the road this season, trimmed with navy with some additional darker green detailing on side panels and sleeves.

Lincoln City, Away: Lincoln’s Away Kit takes influence from the flag of Lincolnshire, featuring blue, green, yellow and red colour scheme that makes up the flag, which is celebrating its 20th birthday this year and the fleur-de-lis motif running through the shirt.

Doncaster Rovers, Away: Another Oxen Away kit and similar use of blues as the above kit, this is being marketed as a “Tribute to the City”.

Stockport County, Home: Stockport County will be in a lot more white than is normally seen with their new Home Kit, the shirt goes from their traditional blue into white, with white shorts.

Luton Town, Home: A new manufacturer in English Football, with Reflo taking over supplying Luton Town’s Kits from this season, and is a nice, classic look for The Hatters with navy sleeves being used for the first time since 1995, however that was white a white Home shirt… this shirt is one that pays homage to a popular Adidas Away kit of the early 80s, a solid start in terms of design for Reflo.

Bolton Wanderers, Home: Another solid offering from Macron, some nice details in side panels and within shorts to give the look a fresh feel…

Wycombe Wanderers, Home / Away / 3rd: Wycombe have launched all three kits at the same time and these are first new kits in two seasons for the club who used the same three kits for the last two seasons. A nice take on the classic Home Quartered shirt, a yellow Away shirt and the club alternative colours of green and white are used in the 3rd Kit this time, with a checkered shirt.

League Two – 24 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Grimsby Town, Away: Umbro and Grimsby Town are another one of the partnerships that seems to deliver with all elements of the kits, including training wear. This Away kits is a tribute to 1995 / 96 Away and one of the former cult-hero Ivano Bonetti, who features in the video for the kit, and one that I am sure will be popular with the fans.

Crawley Town, Away: A simple but classic looking white Away Kit for Crawley Town, with some nice detailing on side panels and cuffs. There is also an additional detail within the shirt which contains the names of the local neighbourhoods in the Crawley area.

Newport County, Home: Newport County will be in halved shirts, the design features a map that traces the route between Newport and Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, the town where the club played in 1989. There is something timeless about this kit, it works really well.

This week’s Kit News…..

Crystal Palace and Macron have announced a “Multi-year” extension to the partnership, having first reunited in 2022 there is no details on the length of the contract but it looks like we will see them in Macron kits for the foreseeable future.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over at my Socials…

X – @kit_geek or Bluesky – Kit Geek

If you liked this, then check out the below posts that have recently been published on the site…

Premier League – Kit Observations

Premier League – One Kit Wonders

Premier League – End of Season Review

Premier League – Top Trumps

The Heat Press ’25: Kit Round Up, 27th June

Posted in EFL, General, Kit History, Kit News, The Heat PressTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

It’s back…..!

As we approach the end of June, teams are now starting to kick off their pre-season training and of the course the Club World Cup is still in full swing with the completion of the group stages, I thought it was time to dust off The Heat Press and take a look at some new kits….

To pass these summer weeks I will take a weekly (or maybe more) look at the Kits launched across the English Leagues and beyond, the discussion points and anything else Kit Related that comes up. I will only share those kits that have been officially released, as there are plenty of leaks that do the rounds but we will keep this official.

You will also find my Kit Overview illustrations for each of the four divisions.

Premier League – 11 / 60 Kits

New Kits:

Everton, Home: The first kit to be worn at The Hill Dickinson Stadium, which takes inspiration from the new stadium’s location on the banks of the River Mersey and shows a ‘wave’ that flows throughout the shirt. Blue socks will also return as first choice colour, the first time since 2014 / 15 season, although they were navy blue, this is time royal blue socks will be used in the kit’s default look since 2012 / 13.

Tottenham Hotspur, Away: Tottenham Hotspur have followed up their Home Kit, by launching their Away Kit, this is all black kit with a subtle checked pattern within both the shirt and shorts, the kit is being labeled as “In Darkness we Dare” which is a spin on the club’s motto “To do is to dare”. The first team in Premier League to launch Home and Away kits.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Home: The second season with Sudu as manufacturer and it’s another classic looking Wolves kit, simple but effective, I like that they keep the Home Kits simple and it works well in my eyes, nice collar too and detailing within the shirt.

Championship – 6 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Preston North End, Away: A fairly standard offering from Castore in terms of the Home Kit, some nice details within the shirt which take inspiration from Deepdale. The talking point here is the sponsor, Spud Bros… but from my point of view, they are local company supporting their local team, so fair play to them, much more appealing than a betting company, so a win from this Kit Geek.

Millwall, Home: If you follow me on Social Media you will know that I’m a Millwall fan, so been waiting for this one, last season’s Home Kit was wonderful, one of my favourite Millwall kits of all time, so any kit this season will have some big shoes to fill in my eyes…! And they have delivered, a simple and clean look, something classical about this shirt with it’s central placement of logos, one happy Millwall Fan here.

West Bromwich Albion, Home: Macron 2nd season with WBA, an interesting collar and some additional detailing in the socks, which also contain a single stripe.

League One – 14 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Bradford City, Away: Bradford City launched their new Away Kit at the end of last week, and its light, almost metallic all blue look on the road this season, paired with a Pink 3rd Kit which was released at the end of last season! This kit also carries “UK City of Culture” detail on this shirt.

Northampton Town, 3rd Kit: Its the 3rd Kit first up for Northampton Town and another almost metallic futuristic look in League One, with aqua green, gray kit and detailed with neon yellow… a nice look, that works well for me.

Cardiff City, Home: New Balance remains as Cardiff’s kit manufacturer for a 4th season, and this season will see the club play in pinstripes with white shorts and blue socks!

League Two – 18 / 72 Kits

New Kits:

Shrewsbury Town, Home: A nice looking kit, based on one worn by the club between 1983 and 1985. Some nice details within the shirt and the red trim is something that I particularly like and works for me. Oxen delivering some nice designs again.

Cambridge United, Away: Umbro and Cambridge United are a partnership that have consistently delivered and this season looks to continue that trend, with new Home Kit launched last week and the Away proving to be a classic look that will work perfectly as a change kit!

Cambridge United, 3rd: The full kit set is completed for Cambridge, with this black kit which is paired with gold shorts and black socks, a nice balance from Home Kit.

This week’s Kit News…..

Chelsea wore their 2025 / 26 Away Kit for the first time in the Club World Cup Group Game against ES Tunis. The Kit was worn with alternative socks, rather than the Green default socks.

It appears the Brentford x Joma deal is confirmed, with the launch of their training range this week.

Barnsley have confirmed they are moving away from Puma have signed a new Kit deal with Oxen, who now will supply at least three teams in League One this season and four in total in EFL.

Carlisle United who were relegated into National League last season, launched their new home kit and its another look to the past with Umbro, this time taking one of their classic Away kit looks but giving it a home kit spin as they look to bounce back to League Two this season!

You might wonder why the announcements of Liverpool’s new signings has been using last season’s Nike Kits, the new deal with Adidas does not start until 1st August, so all activity including pre-season friendlies in July will be in Nike playing and training kits.

Manchester City used their alternative shorts and socks with their Home Kit in the final World Club Cup Group game against Juventus, the navy shorts and socks give a really interesting look that I think works well with the navy details within the shirt, a look I hope we see in Premier League this season!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over at my Socials…

X – @kit_geek or Bluesky – Kit Geek

If you liked this, then check out the below posts that have recently been published on the site…

Premier League – Kit Observations

Premier League – One Kit Wonders

Premier League – End of Season Review

Premier League – Top Trumps

EFL, The Championship 24/25: End of Season Kit Report

Posted in General, Kit HistoryTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

The 2024 / 25 The Championship Season came to a close on Saturday 3rd May 2025, with Leeds United securing the title in stoppage time on the final day of the season from Burnley, with both teams amassing a staggering 100 points. Sheffield United, Sunderland, Coventry City and Bristol City will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I am taking my annual in depth look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 95 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 34% of Kit variations used
    • 32 Home Kits worn in total 
    • 8 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 35% of variations used
    • 33 Away Kits worn in total
    • 10 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 29% of variations worn
    • 24 3rd Kits worn in total
    • 4 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits worn in total

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 23

Kit Log – Match 24 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the Championship Teams

  • Luton Town in 9 Kit Variations: Home x3, Away x3, 3rd x3
  • Plymouth Argyle in 6 Kit Variations: Home x4, Away, 3rd
  • Sheffield Wednesday in 5 Kit Variations: Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
  • 12 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Cardiff City: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Coventry City: Home, Away, 3rd x2
    • Hull City: Home, Away, 3rd, Special
    • Middlesbrough: Home, Away, 3rd, Special
    • Millwall: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Oxford United: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Portsmouth: Home, Away x3, 3rd
    • Preston North End: Home, Away, 3rd x2
    • Sheffield United: Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Stoke City: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Swansea City: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Watford: Home x2, Away, 3rd
  • 9 Teams wore 3 Kit Variations (Home, Away, 3rd Kits)
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
    • Plymouth Argyle:
      • Default Home
      • Home with Home Shorts & white (Away) socks
      • Home with black (3rd) shorts & white (Away socks)
      • Home with Black (3rd shorts) and Home socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Luton Town
      • Default All Navy Away
      • Away with Orange (Home) socks
      • Away with White (3rd) socks
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
    • Luton Town
      • Default All White 3rd
      • 3rd with Navy (Home) shorts
      • 3rd with Navy (Home) shorts and Navy (Away) socks
  • 11 Teams only used Kits with no variations
  • Most worn Home Kit – 39, Norwich City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 14, Leeds United
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Hull City and Millwall

Something that I have created last season which provided to be popular was an overview of when each of the new kits were first worn, for example… Burnley wore 3rd Kit, Home Kit and then Away Kit in their first three games

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 2024 / 25 Championship season teams wore 95 Kits, this was an increase on the number kits compared to last season where 85 Kits were worn, this is the joint with League One with the fewest number of Kit Variations seen this season with Luton Town using nine Kit Variations, 9.5% of the total Kits used in The Championship

The single most worn Kit in the League was Norwich City for the second season in a row, who wore their Home Kit in 39 of the 46 League games, however this was a reduction from last season having worn their Home Kit 41 times in 23 / 24 Season.

Luton Town were the Kit Lovers Team of the Championship, with a perfectly matched set of kits that was able to be mix and matched, providing nine different looks with some wonderful mash ups!

Plymouth Argyle were another team that made good use of their Kit Set, using 3rd Shorts (Black) and Away Socks (White) to provide alternative Home Kit Variations with white / black shorts and socks.

A theme seen within The Championship was the use of the Kit Set to create new looks, several teams used their Kit in this way, Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle above, there were other notable examples.

Watford made good use of their Black Away Kit shorts and socks, to keep kit looking very much to the club colours.

Preston mashed up their 3rd Kit (shirt) and Away (shorts and socks), to give a different Kit Look at Sheffield Wednesday but one that tonally worked perfectly.

Also Cardiff City, Coventry City, Millwall, Oxford United, Portsmouth, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke City and Swansea City, used another set of socks to create a different Kit Look, with most of these looks being used against Sheffield Wednesday!

Sheffield Wednesday’s Away Kit was an interesting story this season. When released it was shown with black / white socks, that were nice in their design, something a little different, however during the season we did not actually see these socks in action, rather plain white ones worn four times with their Away Kit (and used three times for an alternative Home Kit Look).

There were two “Special Kits” on show in the 2024 / 25 Season…

Hull City wore a special 120th Anniversary Kit against Cardiff City on 28th September.

Middlesbrough wore a “No more Red” Kit, which was a charity kit against Knife Crime, this was worn against Coventry City on 2nd November

There we have it, The Championship’s End of Season Kit report for 2024 / 25, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over on my Socials.

X – @kit_geek or Bluesky – Kit Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below when they are published…!

League One – 2024 / 25

League Two – 2024 / 25

Premier League – 2024 / 25

EFL, The Championship 23/24: End of Season Kit Report

Posted in EFL, Kit HistoryTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

The 2023/24 The Championship Season came to a close on Saturday 4th May 2024, with Leicester City securing the title on 29th April and Ipswich Town confirming their promotion as runners up on the final day of the season, making it back to back promotions for The Tractor Boys. Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich 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)
  • 86 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 33 Home Kits worn in total (Including 1 Kit from 24/25 Season)
    • 7 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 32% of variations used
    • 27 Away Kits worn in total
    • 3 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 27% of variations worn
    • 23 3rd Kits worn in total
    • No 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 3% of variations worn
    • 3 Special Kits worn in total

Overview of Kits Worn

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

  • Queen’s Park Rangers in 6 Kit Variations: Home x5 (Including 24/25 Home Kit), Away
  • 2 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Plymouth Argyle: Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Swansea City: Home x2, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
  • 8 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Birmingham City: Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Bristol City: Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Leeds United: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Preston North End: Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Southampton: Home, Away x2, 3rd
    • Stoke City: Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Sunderland: Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • West Bromwich Albion: Home x2, Away, 3rd
  • 13 Teams wore 3 Kit Variations (Home, Away, 3rd Kits)
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
    • QPR: Hoops with white shorts & socks – Blue shorts & socks – White shorts / blue socks – Blue Shorts / White socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 2 Kits
    • Leeds United: All Blue – Blue / Blue / Aqua Blue
    • Plymouth Argyle: All White – White / White / Green
    • Southampton: White / Turquoise / White – White / Turquoise shorts & socks
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 1 Kits
    • No Team in a 3rd Kit Variation
  • 13 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
  • 1 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, with variations used
  • Most worn Home Kit – 41, Norwich City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 18, Hull City
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 14, Preston North End

Something new that I have created for this season is an overview of when each of the new kits were first worn, for example… Hull City wore their 3rd Kit in their first game, Home Kit in their 2nd game and Away Kit in their 3rd 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 Championship season teams wore 85 Kits, this was a decrease in the number kits compared to last season where 99 Kits were worn, this is the joint with League One with the fewest number of Kit Variations seen this season. Ironically the only team with no 3rd Kit, just Home and Away had the most variations used.

The single most worn Kit in the League was Norwich City, who wore their Home Kit in 41 of the 46 League games.

Despite being the only club in the Championship with no 3rd Kit, Queen’s Park Rangers used the most kit looks in the league this season, which included 5 different Home Kit Looks. This does include their 2024/24 Home Kit which they debuted in their final Home game of the season, but they did use their 23/24 Home Kit in four different variations across 32 games, using all possible combinations of blue / white shorts and socks.

A theme seen within The Championship was the use of Change Kit / Alternative Socks to create new looks, QPR as seen above but also Birmingham City (Away Socks), Plymouth Argyle (Away), Stoke City (Alternative Red Socks), Swansea City (3rd) and West Brom Albion (3rd).

There were only three Away variations worn by Championship clubs, with Leeds United, Plymouth Argyle and Southampton all doning alternative socks (Plymouth using Home Socks) during the season. Southampton and Plymouth also using alternative socks in both fixtures between the clubs.

I want to call out Hull City Kits this season, for me they have delivered the perfect three kit looks for them this season and probably my favourite set of Kits across the English Leagues, they used their Home Kit 26 times, Away Kit 18 times including wearing it once at Home in their final Home game of the season, their 3rd was worn just twice, shame!

There were three “Special Kits” on show in the 2023/24 Season…

Bristol City in a 1974 Heritage Kit

Preston North End in a Sir Tom Finney Special Kit

Swansea City in 30th Anniversary Kit of their first appearence at Wembley in Autoglass Trophy

There we have it, The Championship’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 – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below when they are published…!

Premier League – End of Season Report

League One – End of Season Report

League Two – End of Season Report

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

Posted in EFLTagged , , , , , , , 3 Comments

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

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 – Kit Round Up

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We are now just over half way through the season for the three EFL Leagues, I wanted to document the Kits Worn by each team at this stage of the season.

The Championship

  • 87 Kits worn
  • 33 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home Kits / 9 Variations)
  • 32 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away Kits / 8 Variations)
  • 20 3rd Kits worn (19 Regular 3rd Kits / 1 variation)
  • 2 Special Kits worn (Coventry City / Queen’s Park Rangers)
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  • Luton Town / Millwall in 6 Kit variations – Most in The Championship
  • 4 Teams with 5 Kit variations (Barnsley, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Fulham)
  • 5 Teams with 4 Kit variations
  • 9 Teams with 3 Kit variations
  • 4 Teams with 2 Kit variations (Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Reading, Stoke City) – fewest in the league

League One

  • 82 Kits Worn
  • 34 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home kits / 10 variations)
  • 32 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away kits / 8 variations)
  • 15 3rd Kits worn (14 Regular 3rd Kits / 1 variations)
  • 1 Special Kit (Doncaster Rovers)
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  • 4 Teams with 5 Kit variations, most in League One (Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Oxford United, Portsmouth)
  • 4 Teams with 4 Kit variations (Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday)
  • 14 Teams with 3 Kit variations
  • 2 Teams in 2 Kit variations, fewest in the league (Bolton Wanderers, Gillingham)

League Two

  • 73 Kits worn
  • 29 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home Kits / 5 variations)
  • 26 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away Kits / 2 variations)
  • 18 3rd Kits worn (16 Regualr 3rd Kits / 2 variations)
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  • 2 Teams in 5 Kit variations in League Two (Rochdale, Walsall)
  • 3 Teams in 4 Kit variations (Colchester United, Stevenage, Tranmere Rovers)
  • 13 Teams in 3 Kit variations
  • 6 Teams in 2 Kit variations, fewest in the League

So just over half way through the season, we have seen 242 Kits used by the 72 teams in total, what have been your favourite kits on show, Kit Mash ups and Kit Match ups in the 2021/22 season, let me know over at @Kit_Geek

EFL, Championship 20/21 – End of Season Report

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The 2020/21 Championship (2nd Tier of English Football) league season came to a close on 8th May, Norwich City (winners) and Watford (Runners Up) bouncing straight back to The Premier League, with the Play Off Final to be played between Brentford and Swansea City 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)
  • 110 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 44% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 24 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 32% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 11 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 23% of variations worn
    • 21 3rd Kits worn
    • 4 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits worn (Coventry City, Norwich City)

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

  • 3 teams wore 7 kit variations – Highest in the league
    • Luton Town – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x2
    • Middlesbrough – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • QPR – Home x3, Away x3, 3rd
  • 2 teams wore 6 kit variations
    • Barnsley – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Coventry City – Home, Away x2, 3rd x 2, Special Kit
  • 6 Teams wore 5 kit variations
    • AFC Bournemouth – Home x3, Away, 3rd
    • Brentford – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Bristol City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Rotherham United – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Stoke City – Home x3, Away x2
    • Watford – Home x2, Away, 3rd
  • Most variations of Home Kit
    • 7 Teams wore 3 variations of Home Kit
    • AFC Bournemouth, Barnsley, Middlesbrough, QPR, Reading, Stoke City, Watford
  • Most variations of Away Kit
    • 2 Teams wore 3 variations of Away Kit
    • Luton Town, QPR
  • Most variations of 3rd Kit
    • 4 Teams wore 2 variations of 3rd Kit
    • Birmingham City, Coventry City, Luton Town, Middlesbrough
  • Special Kits
    • Coventry City Supporters Shirt
    • Norwich City Supporters Shirt
  • 4 Teams wore no variations of kit, just Home / Away / 3rd Kit
    • Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Preston North End, Wycombe Wanderers
  • Most worn Home Kit – 39, Norwich City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 13, Blackburn Rovers
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 17, Preston North End

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 – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

Huddersfield Town wore change kits in all of their 23 away game this season, wearing their away kit 9 times and their 3rd kit 14 times

Several teams elected to use their 3rd more than their away kit this season. The teams are Barnely, Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Derby County, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End and Watford.

Queen’s Park Rangers used their away kit in three different variations – Black shorts and socks, white shorts and socks, blue shorts and socks.

Three teams did not have 3rd Kits, Blackburn Rovers (3 variations – Home x2, Away), Reading (4 variations Home x3, Away) and Stoke City (5 variations – Home x3, Away x2).

Coventry City played the first 14 games in their home kit, the last team in the league to use a change kit, they ended the season using 6 variations of kit – joint 2nd most in the league

Barnsley wore purple socks in their home game with Reading on 2nd April to raise awareness for Weston Park Cancer Charity.

Luton Town’s Umbro kits were the most interchangable of the season, by using 3 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 3 pairs of socks in just three colours (Orange / White / Navy Blue) the team created 7 different kit variations (joint highest in the League).

MIllwall took inspriation from the main sponsor with their 3rd Kit, using the Huski Chocolate Mountain theme into their unique shirt.

There were two “Supporters” Shirts used this season, Coventry City released a navy kit for their club members which was used at home against Brentford and Norwich City used their supporters shirt as a thank you in their final league at Carrow Road against Reading.

There we have it, The Championship End of Season Kit report for 2020/21, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

If you have seen my End of Season Kit Report for the Premier League, please click on the link below.

https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/premier-league-2020-21-end-of-season-kit-report/

EFL, The Championship – Kit Log 2019/20 (So far)

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As the World focuses on more important issues, football it righly taking a breaking until things are safer for us all.  I wanted to take a little bit of your time in this period to look at the kits worn so far in the 2019/20 Championship Season (the 2nd Tier of English football league pryamid).

We are currently over three quarters of the way through the season, with each team playing 37 games, which gives us a total of 444 games and 888 kits worn in total by the 24 competing teams.

Kit Stats

  • 888 Kits worn
  • 115 variations of kit worn
  • 39% Home kits (21% Full Home, 18% Variation)
  • 40% Away kits (19% Full Away, 21% Variation)
  • 18% 3rd kits (10% Full 3rd, 8% Variation)
  • 3% Special / Commemorative Kits

Kit Variations

Barnsley – Birmingham City – Blackburn Rovers – Brentford

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Bristol City – Cardiff City – Charlton Athletic – Derby County – Fulham

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Huddersfield Town – Hull City – Leeds United – Luton Town – Middlesbrough

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Millwall – Nottingham Forest – Preston North End – Queen’s Park Rangers – Reading

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Sheffield Wednesday – Stoke City – Swansea City – West Bromwich Albion – Wigan Athletic

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The “Intereting” siutation that is seen in The Championship is use or more acuratley the lack of use of home kits, with only 21% of kits used in 2019/20 (so far) being a team’s full home kit, that means a staggering 79% of all kits worn being away kits, 3rd kits, Home kit variations and special commemorative kits, a great example being that of West Bromwich Albion who have worn change kits (19) more than their home kit (18) this season and have yet to wear their home kit in an away fixture this season, several other teams have only worn their home kits once or twice away from their home ground and in many cases with obvious kit clash.

Some Kit Call outs

Some things that I want to take some time to call out in particular with Championship team’s kit usage:

Luton Town have worn 9 different kits this season (3 Home variations, 3 Away variations and 3 Third kit variations), although they have worn 9 different kits, it also shows the mix and match flexibilty of their current kit range, with changes only using shorts / socks from their other kits not bespoke shorts / socks.

Four teams have worn 4 different variations of one kit, Blackburn Rovers (3rd Kit), Bristol City (Away), Reading (Away) and Sheffield Wednesday (Away), these kits all worn in different combinations with white shorts / socks.

The “Atheltic Effect”, Charlton Atheltic and Wigan Athletic are the only teams in The Championship to wear just two kits, only wearing their full home and away kits in their 37 games, Charlton even have a registered 3rd Kit that has not been used so far.

Nottingham Forest’s Away kit has been worn in three different variations, the full all blue kit and with two different pairs of white shorts, first worn against Luton Town were the shorts from the home kit (with red trim) and when playing against Brentford Macron supplied them with white shorts with a blue trim to match their blue away kit.

Special Kits

There have been three special commemorative kits worn by teams this season:

Brentford – Griffin Park Special Kit (which has been worn three time, 1 at home and 2 away as a 3rd Kit)

Brentford

Bristol City – 125th Anniversary Kit

Bristol City

Leeds United – Centenary Kit (1919-2019)

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Kit Log

My kit log of every game in the Championship 2019/20 season, so you can see who as worn what against whom.

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Please let me know your Kit Highlights from The Championship, what are your favourite kits in the League, let me know at @Kit_Geek or via the comments below.

The Championship, End of Season Kit Report

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On Sunday 5th May The Championship League season came to an end, we do still have five games left with the playoffs but this feels like a good time to have a review of the kits worn through out the season and look at some of the stats behind the kits worn.

Kit Stats 

  • 1102 Kits worn
  • 107 variations of kits
  • Home Kits – 45%, 25 Full Home kits worn, 23 variations of Home kit – (Stoke used 2019/20 Home kit in final League game)
  • Away Kits – 39%, 24 Full Away kits worn, 18 variations of Away kit
  • 3rd Kits – 16%, 15 Full 3rd kits worn, 2 variations of 3rd kit (Aston Villa and Leeds United)

Overview

Match 1 to Match 16

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Match 17 to Match 31

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Match 32 to Match 46

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Due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Bolton Wanderers at the end of this season, the fixture against Brentford was not played, leaving those two teams with only 45 appearances in the League.

Kit Variations

  • Aston Villa wore 9 variations of kit, 5 different home combinations and 2 variations of both Away and 3rd Kits.
  • Bolton Wanderers wore 7 variations of kit, 2 home variations, 4 Away and just the one 3rd kit
  • Most variations of Home Kit – Aston Villa, 5 variations
  • Most variations of Away Kit – Bolton Wanderers & Reading, 4 variations
  • Most variations of 3rd Kit – Aston Villa & Leeds United, 2 variations
  • 9 Clubs only had Home and Away kits
  • Wigan Athletic only wore two variations of kit all season, their Home and Away
  • 5 Clubs did not use any variation of kit available to them – Bristol City, Norwich City, Preston North End, Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic.

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I wrote in a previous post – EFL, Championship – Kit Variations about my five favourite kits and that has not changed since that post, so my favourite kit match up of the season was Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City.

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I will continue to add to the Kit Log throughout the Playoff and will update via Twitter – @Kit_Geek but please let me know your thoughts and what your favourite kits seen the English 2nd Tier via the comments below or Twitter.