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.
The FA Cup 3rd Round, one of the highlights of the Football Season for many of us, the round that sees teams from the Premier League and Championship join the competition, often with several “Non-League” teams still involved, the dreams and hope of a New Year replicated into Footballing dreams both big and small!
In it’s 143rd season, the oldest competition in Football initially had 732 teams enter with qualifying rounds starting back in the summer of 2023, with 32 teams from these fixtures reaching the first round, where the EFL Teams first join the Competition.
A recap of the previous rounds…
1st Round
1st Round Replays
2nd Round
2nd Round Replays
The 3rd Round of The FA Cup took place over 5 days of the first weekend of 2024, between Thursday 4th January and Monday 8th January, the fixture between Crystal Palace and Everton the first to be played on Thursday of this weekend!
3rd Round Kit Log
64 Teams kicked off the 3rd Round in 32 Fixtures.
3rd Round Replays
There were 14 different Kit Manufacturers seen in this round of the FA Cup, with Macron having the most teams with 11 and Umbro with 10, the only two with double figures… four Kit Makers, Kappa, Kelme, New Balance (all Championship Clubs) and VX3 (Newport County) with just one club.
Kit Highlights
Crystal Palace kicked off the 3rd Round of the FA Cup on Thursday by wearing a special charity / 4th shirt, containing a sash something that The Eagles are well known for doning on their kits over the years. This shirt was paired with Home shorts and socks and with Everton in their 3rd Kit, it made for one of my favourite Kit Match Ups of the season so far.
For the 3rd Season in a row Arsenal used an all white kit, labelled as “No More Red”, highlighting teenage knife attacks in London. The shirts will not be for release and will sold for charities supporting the local communities. This season is different as the previous incarnations were used away from The Emirates Stadium, at Nottingham Forest in 2022 and Oxford United in 2023, so this is a rare ccurrence of Arsenal not in red at Home, Liverpool joind the No More Red theme by wearing their 3rd Kit for a unique look for one of the historic fixtures in English Football!
Maidstone United the lowest team left in the competition, continued to the 4th Round with their victory against League One Stevenage, The National League South (6th Tier) Kent Team have a kit which is based in design on the final Maidstone United kit from 1992 before the club folded and withdraw from The Football League.
An interesting Kit Match up with the Tyne / Wear Derby, in recent years when the clubs have played each other change kits have been worn to avoid a clash, this was not the case in this FA Cup game, with Newcastle United wearing alternative white shorts and socks with their Home Shirt to give a more traditional look to this fixture, something that raised mixed views across Social Media with both those glad to see this and those that called it out as a kit clash!
Blackpool are the only team that have worn three different kit looks in the opening three rounds of the Competition, having worn all Tangerine Home Kit in their opening round against Bromley, then their default home with against Forest Green Rovers and their Away Kit against Nottingham Forest.
Manchester City had one difference in their kit from any of the other competing clubs… as they continue to not use the offical FA Cup sleeve patches, due to the current sponsors of the competition, they do not use the patches as it is direct competition to their own principle sponsor. It is likely, as in previous seasons that will be fined for this action but that does not stop them! It also means the holders patch (which is silver not red) will not be seen this season.
Being a Cup competition meant that lots of clubs, introduced their own “Cup” Namesets instead of the standard league names and numbers that normally used, some stand out ones that we wanted to call out are the following…
Any of your FA Cup hightlights that I have missed or stand out, let me know your thoughts in the comments below or at @Kit_Geek
Something new for 2024 is my Facebook Page, which you can find here so please give have a look and give me a follow / like.
The 2022/23 League Two Season came to a close on Monday 8th May 2023, with Leyton Orient securing the title well before the end of the season on 22nd April, Stevenage were runners up with a remarkable turnaround from their previous season and the final automatic spot being secured by Northampton Twon on the final day of the season. Stockport County, Carlisle United, Bradford City and Salford City will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.
I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).
Kit Stats
1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
93 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
26 Home Kits worn, includes 2 23/24 kits
9 Home Kit variations worn
Away Kits – 34% of variations used
24 Away Kits worn
8 Away Kit variations worn
3rd Kits – 27% of variations worn
20 3rd Kits worn
5 3rd Kit variations worn
Special Kit – 1% of variations worn
1 Special Kit worn
Overview of Kits Worn
Kit Overview
Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15
Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30
Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46
Kit Variations
Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League Two Teams
3 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
Crawley Town – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
Hartlepool United – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
Walsall – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
Barrow AFC – Home x2 (Inc 23/24 Home), Away x2, 3rd
Rochdale – Home x3, Away, 3rd
Salford City – Home, Away, 3rd x3
8 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
8 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
2 Teams in just 2 Kit Variations
Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
Hartlepool United: White/Blue – White – White (with hoop) / White/Blue – White – White / White/Blue – White – Red
Rochdale: Blue/Black – White – Black / Blue/Black – Black – Black / Blue/Black – White – White
Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
Crawley Town: White – Black – White / All White / White – Black – Black
Walsall: All White / White – White – Red / White – Red – White
Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
Salford City: White – Black – Black / White – Black – White / All White
Sutton United in 4 different kits with no variations
7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
2 Teams in just Home and Away Kits
Most worn Home Kit – 39, Mansfield Town, 38 default look and once with away socks
Most worn Away Kit – 16, Stevenage
Most worn 3rd Kit – 10, Swindon Town, 9 default look and once with home shorts
Kit Grid
Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek
Kit Highlights and Summary
In 2022/23 League Two teams wore 93 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 86 Kits were worn, although there was an increase season on season this was lowest in English Leagues this season. League Two was also the only league which had two teams in just two kits (Home and Away), Colchester United and Stevenage. Stevenage did use a special kit in their FA Cup victory against Aston Villa but this was never used for League games.
Hartlepool United were one of two teams that wore their home kit in 3 different variations, however two of these looks used white socks. They went through a period during the season, from 31st December to 3rd April where their home kit look was with just plain white socks rather than the default home socks with contained red bands and Errea branding within them. Supply Issues, the Kit-Man’s choice, one of the Kit Mysteries of 2022/23 season!
There was just the one “Special” Kit on show this season, and that was Sutton United’s 125th Anniversary Kit which saw The Us turn out in a red kit with white shorts and red socks, their orignal club colours from 125 years ago. This was part of a run that of games that had Sutton in 4 completely different kits in 4 games.
Grimsby Town’s home kit caused some teams in League one some issues with socks this season, Grimsby’s default look uses red socks which meant that 5 teams used alternative socks when playing against The Mariners..
Carlisle United, wore their Away kit with Home socks…
Crawley Town in Home Kit with Away socks…
Crewe Alexander in Home Kit with 3rd shorts and socks…
Doncaster Rovers in their 3rd kit with Away socks…
Walsall in Home kit with Away socks…
Carlisle United only had Home and Away kits this season but used these kits to mix a match two additional looks, as mentioned above using one look to face Grimsby Town and then using Home Shirts, Away shorts and socks against Bradford City
Mansfield Town were one of a number teams across the EFL to use their kit to raise awareness for a charity. The Stags wore the club’s light blue away socks with amber shirts and blue shorts as a display of support to mark Down’s Syndrome Awareness Week, and the Down’s Syndrome Association’s #LotsOfSocks campaign.
On the final day of the season, two teams wore their 2023/24 Home Kits… Barrow AFC wore their new Puma Home Kit and Newport County debuted their kit from VX3 who are replacing Hummel as their manufacturer.
There we have it, League Two’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek
The 2022/23 League One Season came to a close on Sunday 7th May 2023, with Plymouth Argyle securing the title on the final day of the season and breaking the 100 point barrier, runners up were Ipswich Town who themselves managed a staggering 98 points to secure automatic promotion to The Championship. Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.
I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).
Kit Stats
1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
102 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
24 Home Kits worn
15 Home Kit variations worn
Away Kits – 37% of variations used
24 Away Kits worn
14 Away Kit variations worn
3rd Kits – 24% of variations worn
19 3rd Kits worn
5 3rd Kit variations worn
Special Kit – 1% of variations worn
1 Special Kit worn
Overview of Kits Worn
Kit Overview
Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15
Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30
Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46
Kit Variations
Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams
1 Teams wore 7 Kit Variations
Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x2
5 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
Barnsley – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2, Special
Charlton Athletic – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
Morecambe – Home x4, Away x2
Oxford United – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
Plymouth Argyle – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
Burton Albion – Home x2, Away x3
Derby County – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
Lincoln City – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
5 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
10 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
Morecambe: Red – White – Black / Red – White – White / Red – Red – Black / Red – Red – White
Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
Accrington Stanley: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Black
Burton Albion: All Black / Black – Yellow – Yellow / Black – Black – Yellow
Plymouth Argyle: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Green
Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits
Accrington Stanley: Black – Black – White / Black – White – White
Barnsley: All Black – Black / Black / White
Charlton Athletic: All Blue / Blue – Blue – White
Derby County: Black – Black – Green / All Black
Lincoln City: All White / White – White – Black
7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
3 Teams wore 3 kits with no 3rd kit, all using a variation of their Home Kit – Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town
Most worn Home Kit – 38, Ipswich Town
Most worn Away Kit – 16, Cambridge United
Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Exeter City
Kit Grid
Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek
Kit Highlights and Summary
In 2022/23 League One teams wore 102 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 94 Kits were worn, the 102 Kits were the most worn in an EFL League this season. All teams wore a minimum of 3 kits with only 3 teams in just home and away kits each of these team wore at least one kit variation of their home kit which gives us some different looks through out the season.
Bristol Rovers had a couple of Kit Tales this season, the first being in their game against Exeter City on 29th December when as the Home Kit they supported The Shelter “No Home Kit” campaign by wearing their Away shirt with Home Shorts and Socks, however they changed shirts at half time to return to their home shirt and ended the game in their full home kit, giving us the only kit variation to be used for half a game!
This half time change led to a run of 18 games, from 29th December 2022 to 22nd April where their only wore their Home Kit, this 124 day run was the longest run of just one kit being used in the English Leagues this season.
Morecambe used 4 Home Kit looks through the season, they used two different looks in home games with their traditional red shirts and white shorts paired with both black (default) and white socks. The other variations used on the road used red shorts with both pairs of socks.
There was only one special kit used in League One and that was Barnsley, who wore a “Red Out” shirt that was to support their “Together Red” campaign which was to help raise awareness Barnsley’s no-tolerance message of discrimination of any kind, ensuring Oakwell is a safe place for all.
Kit sustainability is a topic that has been raised a lot of the past season, so I wanted to call out the many teams in League One that used kits in the 2022/23 season that have been from the previous season… 8 teams re-used 11 kits in total for a second season
Accrington Stanley – Home, Away and 3rd kits were from last season!
Bolton Wanderers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
Bristol Rovers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
Exeter City – Away and 3rd kits were from last season
Forest Green Rovers – Home kit from last season
Port Vale – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
Sheffield Wednesday – 3rd kit was last season’s away
Wycombe Wanderers – 3rd kit was last season’s away
Two of these teams left it late to use their 3rd Kits, with Sheffield Wedsnesday using their’s in their penultimate league game and Wycombe Wanderers using theirs in the final game of the season both teams had only used Home and Away Kits up till that point!
Wycombe Wanderes were also part of one of my favourite “Kit Match Ups” of the season, when they played Bristol Rovers on 26th December 2022, giving us the unusual kit site of two quartered shirts playing against each other, and what a sight it was… perfectly balanced kits and works so well in humble opinion!
My final thought of 2022/23 League One season is with the Champions Plymouth Argyle… their away kit this season which pays homage to the kit worn when they played in Playoff Final at Wembley in 1996. This kit is my favourite kit in English football this season, its design, use of the club’s traditional colours and overall balance is a stand out kit from Puma, so my congratulations to The Pilgrims not only for the return to The Championship but doing it in the one of the best kits of the recent years… (please keep it for another year!!)
There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek
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
The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, first kicked off over 150 years ago in November 1871 has now completed its full Second Round of the 2022 / 23 season.
The second round was made up of 40 Teams made up from 29 League One and League Two teams and 11 teams from the Non-League English Football Pyramid, with Alvechurch FC being the lowest rank team in the round who play in the 7th Tier (Southern League Premier Division Central).
Second Round Kit Log
The 40 Teams were provided by 19 Kit Manufactures, giving us a wide range of kit makers to look at.
Overall Macron produced the most kits in this round with seven teams, Puma second with five teams and third were Hummel with four teams (all EFL Clubs). There were ten manufactures that only provided the one team in this round, ths included Adidas (Accrington Stanley) and Canterbury (Buxton).
Taking a look at this per round, shows there were two manufactures lost from the First Round games.
Second Round Replay – Kit Log
There were only two replays in this round and of these only Gillingham’s match against Dagenham & Redbridge gave us a different kit match up from the original game.
Kit Highlights
I want to call out a few Kit Highlights from the total 22 Second Round games.
Gillingham – In their first game with Dagenham & Redbridge then went for a Kit Mash Up combining their Home Shirt with Away shorts and socks, to give a look which is a more a “traditional” Gills look of Blue / White / White that was used by the club until the mid 90s.
MK Dons – Another team that have combined kits to create a Mash Up, this with their home shirt and 3rd shorts / socks for white and black look, one that they have now used a few times this season but one that is not often seen by the League One Club.
Chippingham Town – One of the Non League sides who played in the Second Round, also one of the only teams that were the only representaton for their kit manufacturer. Uhlsport, a classic name in football are often seen in the England from an outfield Kit point of view but their home kit for Chippingham Town is a stylish one, with a nice use of the “yolk” in the shirt to give us something different in terms of kit aesthetics.
Let me know your favourite kits from this season’s FA Cup Second Round at either the comments section below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek
The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, first kicked off over 150 years ago in November 1871 has now completed its full First Round of the 2022 / 23 season.
The first round was made up of 80 Teams made up from the 48 League One and League Two teams and then 32 teams from the Non-League English Football Pyramid, with Alvechurch FC being the lowest rank team in the round who play in the 7th Tier (Southern League Premier Division Central).
First Round Kit Log
The 80 Teams were provided by 21 Kit Manufactures, with 4 manufacturers only supplying a non league team and not a league team, this give us kit lovers plenty of different kits to admire.
Manufacturers
Puma supplied the most kits in this round with 13 kits, 7 from League teams and 6 from Non League teams, Macron supplying 11 kits with 9 League Teams and 2 Non League Teams
There were 8 Manufacturers that provided just 1 kit in the First Round, 6 suppling League Teams and 2 supplying Non League Teams.
Kit Nerd will notice the likes of Kappa, Canterbury and Uhlsport supplying kits in the competition, all for Non League Teams.
First Round Replay – Kit Log
There 7 Replays in the First Round, only AFC Fylde v Gillingham gave us a repeat in kit match ups from their first ties.
Kit Highlights
I want to call out a few Kit Highlights from the total 47 First Round games.
Oxford United – The game against Woking was originally postponed due to a Waterlogged Pitch but they played each other on 16th November saw Oxford United in a Kit Mash up not seen in the League One this season, with white away shorts paired with 3rd yellow socks to give Home, Away, 3rd Kit Mash up.
Kings Lynn Town – Pink and Yellow is a combination not often seen on the pitch, so when Kings Lynn Town defeated Doncaster Rovers in their away kit, its worthing calling out… a nice combination of colours.
York City – One of the most popular kits of the 2022 / 23 season in the Kit Community, so lets celebrate seeing it in action in the FA Cup
Buxton – In their all Non League tie with Merthyr Town, we saw Buxton in their home kit manufactured by Canterbury, someone who we have not seen in the football world for a few years now and one we will see again as Buxton moved through to Round 2.
Let me know your favourite kits from this season’s FA Cup First Round at either the comments section below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek
As mentioned in the latest Edition of The Heat Press I called out this graphic from Stoke City which shows their Kit launch for 2022/23 and how they will be used as an overall set, it was something I wanted to take a little deeper look into.
On the 1st June The Potters launched their home kit, which was followed in the next two days with the two change kits (no kit designated as Away or 3rd), showing us these kits are being viewed as an overall set not three individual kits.
Macron have produced Stoke City’s kits since 2016 and in their 7th season as a partnership and for the first time since 2017/18 (their last in the Premier League) have produced three kits for the forthcoming season, having only had Home and Away Kits in the past four seasons and using alternative shorts and socks with these kits to avoid clashes.
However a rule was brought in by the EFL at the start of the 2021/22 season which requested clubs only have three shirts, three shorts and three socks in their “Kit Locker” for use, The Potters have shown this season how using these elements of kit sensibly and viewing the kit set as a whole kit can provide alternative that work well for the club and keeping a constant theme across all kit variations, we had an excellent example of this with Walsall in the 21/22 Season, details of that can be found here
Home Kit – The default Home Kit combines the traditional red and white striped shirt (this year seeing some detaling in the stripes) paired with white shorts and socks, the alternative of red shorts and socks (something we have seen regularly used over the past seasons) and a new look with black shorts and socks.
White Change Kit – The next kit launched was the white change kit, taking inspriation from the away kits of the 70s with the two coloured sash, this gives an unique look for the club (that kit being matched with black shorts and red socks). Looking at the club shop it appears this version will be used with black shorts and socks as default, with the red and white offering alternative looks.
Black Change Kit – The final kit lauched was the black kit, again using the club shop as the basis of this look will be paired with Red shorts and socks as a default look and this gives each short and sock colour block a first choice default look with one of the three kits.
So there we have it, currenly nine different kit variations offered with just three shirts, shorts and socks, we could even see up to a total of 27 kit variations possible if the shorts and socks are also mixed and matched, could we see a different look in each Away game in The Championship, part of me certainly hopes so.
Well done to Macron and Stoke City in delivering which is likely to be one of the best kit overall kit sets seen in the 2022/23 Season.
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 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
Football Kit Geek - @Kit_Geek 