FA Cup 2022/23 – First Round, Kit Review

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

Champions League 2022/23 – Group Stages – Kit Overview

On Wednesday 2nd November, the Group Stages of the Champions League wrapped up for another season this was over a month earlier than we normally see due the upcoming World Cup starting in November and concluding in December.

In true Kit Geek style I wanted to take a look at the kits worn by the 32 teams competing in these group stages.

Overall Kit Stats:

  • 81 Kits worn in Group Stages – 96 games
  • 36 Home Kits (29 first choice / 7 variations)
  • 26 Away Kits (21 first choice / 5 variations)
  • 15 3rd Kits (11 first choice / 4 variations)
  • 4 “Cup” Kits (3 first choce / 1 variation)

Group A

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • Napoli only team to use Home, Away and 3rd kits, including Champions League only “3rd Kit”
  • Rangers in two home kit variations
  • Liverpool Home kit most used, 5 out of the 6 Group matches

Group B

  • 11 Kits worn in the Group – joint most this season
  • Atletico Madrid and Club Bruges in Home, Away and 3rd kits
  • Bayer Leverkusen in two home kit variations
  • FC Porto Home kit most used, 4 out of the 6 Group matches

Group C

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in Home, Away and 3rd kits – V.Plzen in first 3 games
  • Every team in change kit for away games
  • Each Team’s home kit used 3 times

Group D

  • 11 Kits worn in the Group – Joint most this season
  • Sporting CP in 4 different kit variations, all used in first 4 games and the most used in Group stages
  • Marseille in Home, Away and 3rd Kits
  • Eintracht Frankfurt in Champions League kit (away) for first 5 games, most used kit in the group

Group E

  • 11 Kits worn in the Group – Joint most this season
  • No team wore three different kits (Home, Away, 3rd)
  • All teams wore variations of either Home, Away or “Cup” Kit
  • Red Bull Salzburg in “Cup” Kit in all 6 games, with 1 variation of socks

Group F

  • 8 Kits worn in the Group (fewest in this season’s competition)
  • No team wore three different kits (Home, Away, 3rd)
  • Each team in just 2 kits
  • Real Madrid in change kit in group stages for the first time since 2019

Group G

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • Borussia Dortmund in just 1 kit, only one of two teams this season to do this
  • Sevilla only team to use Home, Away and 3rd kits in the group
  • Manchester City one of 5 teams to use alternative shorts with their home kit this season

Group H

  • 10 Kits worn in the Group
  • PSG in just 1 kit, only one of two teams this season to do this
  • Juventus and Maccabi Haifa in Home, Away and 3rd kits in the group
  • Benfica only team in the group to use a variation kit, with alternative shorts with home kit

Matchday Breakdowns:

Match Day 1

Match Day 2

Match Day 3

Match Day 4

Match Day 5

Match Day 6

Kit Highlights:

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

The three teams playing at Chelsea in Group E all used variations of socks with their kits

Every game in Group C the away team played in a change kit….

The only two teams to wear just one kit were Borussia Dortmund and Paris St.Germain, with Dortmund wearing their European Cup Kit.

Tottenham Hotspur and Olympique de Marseille in some what a flip / reverse kit match up, each doning all white v all sky blue in their two fixtures.

There we have it, my round up of this season’s Champions League Group Stages, let me know you favourite kits, kit highlights and kit match ups in the comments below or over at @Kit_Geek

The Heat Press, Special Edition – Bromley FC, 3rd Kit

Fans designing their kits is something that we have seen several times over the past few seasons but Bromley FC’s new 3rd has caught my eye with something a little different.

During the Summer The National League side asked supporters to design their new third kit for the 2022 / 23 season, a shortlist of six was presented to supporters to vote for.

Details of the six designs can be found here

Their choice was from Bromley FC supporter Marc Eade’s whose design pays tribute to music legend, David Bowie who is originally from the area

David Bowie shirs are always popular in Fantasy Kit / Shirt Designs, so being able to see one in action for real is something I am looking forward too.

The kit will be worn for the first time on Saturday 12th November 2022 in the National League Game against Halifax Town at Hayes Lane, Bromley FC will also be dedicating the day to the launch of the shirt with a several Bowie related activities during the day!

  • Third kit and other items including a fridge magnet, jumper, mug and range of posters will be available
  • Bowie Bolt, normally displayed at Contingent Works in Bromley, will be at the ground for the day
  • Bowie dedicated match-day magazine
  • The Bowie Experience performing live from 6pm 

The design not only gives us a bespoke kit, the choice of green give the team a perfect alternative to their home kit (all white) and away (all red). a great balance across all three kits.

Congratulation to Marc Eade on his winning design and all the details about the kit and events around the launch can be found at Bromley FC’s site here

Some of the Fantasy Kits and shirs we have seen over the years that pay homage to David Bowie:

Let me know your thoughs over a @Kit_Geek on Twitter or in the comments below.

England x Nike – 2022

After months of speculation, rumour and DH Gate Knock offs, we have now seen the release of the Nike Kits for England for 2022/23, in effect the World Cup 2022 Kits.

I have thoughts…. I will always save final judgement of a kit when it is seen in action for the first time, however I did want to take some time and have look at the Kits as they have been presented to us so far!

Home

The home kit at first glance takes a lot of influence from the Umbro Home Kit worn between 1995-96, famously known as the kit worn at Euro 96, this is mainly due to the introduction of a light (almost turquoise) blue as one of the key detail of the kit.

The biggest element of change and controversy to the shirt, is with the shoulders and the introduction of blue in this part of the shirt, here is where for me the shirt takes more influence from 1980-83 Admiral shirt, worn at the 1982 World Cup… interesting one of the most loved shirts in England kit history but this one has initially not gone down as well! It’s an interesting design choice and something different in an England kit, these are always positive elements in my eyes, so I am falling on the side “Love It” of what is going to a “Marmite” shirt for many people.

The shorts are a lighter shade of blue that we have seen with previous kits, although still on the darker shade of the blue spectrum there is a significant change.  Matched with the light blue trim, again giving us those Euro 96 vibes.

Away

Immediately, thoughts go to 1990 and the away kit of the time… in fact that was the registered away shirt between 1990 and 1993, however was not used at Italia 90 and was not worn in 1993… but back to the present…

The shirt is clearly an adaptation of that Umbro shirt, with changes in the colour elements and for me this is what makes the kit a lot more interesting, the way that the light blue element seen in the home kit is also used in the away, the National Crest being blue really works for me the trim in the navy blue collar and the Nike “Tick” all taking this blue and creating something new in England’s Kit History.

Red shorts, returning with the red shirt means a return to all red as the default away look, which will be the first time this is the case since 1994-95 Away kit, yes we have seen all red many times of the years but this has always been alternative shorts used.

My final thoughts, these are interesting kits whether you like them or not one new in design with more subtle nods to the past, the other is a more traditional looking shirt and possible playing to “crowd” as an almost direct copy of kit it is paying tribute too, in my opinion treating these kits as a set Nike have given us a balance to their offering for their latest offering to England National Team and I look forward to seeing them in action.

One last thing… if you do not like them, their lifecycle will be fairly short… there will new kits in 18 months’ time!

Let me know your thoughts over at @Kit_Geek or in the comments below.

Premier League, Top Trumps – 2021 / 22

I like to look at Football Kits and Kit Stats in many ways, one way that I wanted to revisist for the previous season was a Top Trump format.

So for those of a certain age will know all about Top Trumps, so for this set I have looked at the kits of each of the 20 Premier League Teams, Home, Away and Third kits and stats around these kits, the stats I have picked are the following:

  • League Games Worn – How many league games was the kit (and variations) worn in 21 / 22 Season
  • Variations of Kit – The number of variations of that kit were worn in 21 / 22 Season
  • Games Won – Number of games won wearing the kit
  • Points Won – Numner of points won wearing the kit
  • Points per game – The average number of points per game (total points / games worn) per kit

The cards by each team….

There we have it, any surprises in there, Brighton’s Points per game, Leicester City’s lack of games won in their Away and 3rd Kit?

What would you consider as the overall “Top Trump” card, Liverpool Home Kit or Manchester City Home Kit or something else?

Are there any other stats that you think I should haved used for future Top Trump looks at Football Kits.

Please let me know over at @Kit_Geek on Twitter or in the comments below.

My initial attempt at this was for 2018 / 19 Season can be found here

Stoke City Kits – 2022 / 23

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.

The Heat Press – Issue 18

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

Champions League 2021/22 – Kit Overview

On Saturday 28th May 2022, Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League (European Cup) against Liverpool in the Final at Stade de France in Paris. I wanted to follow my overview of the kits worn in the Group Stages with a Kit Overview of the Knock Out Stages of the competition, as well as a final overview of the competition from The Group Stages

Knock Out Round Kit Stats

  • 30 Kits worn in Knock Out Stages – 29 games
  • 17 Home Kits (13 first choice / 4 variations)
  • 5 Away Kits (3 first choice / 2 variations)
  • 8 3rd Kits (7 first choice / 1 variation)
  • 7 New Kit Variations used in Knock Out Stages

Overall Kit Stats (Including Group Stages)

  • 96 Kits worn in Group Stages – 125 games
  • 48 Home Kits (30 first choice / 18 variations)
  • 30 Away Kits (21 first choice / 9 variations)
  • 17 3rd Kits (15 first choice / 2 variations)
  • 1 4th Kit used

Kit Overview

Group A / Group B

Group C / Group D

Group E / Group F

Group G / Group H

The 7 “New Kits Variations” seen in the Knockout Stages:

Atletico Madrid – Home Kit, with red shorts and socks at Manchester City

Real Madrid – Home Kit with away socks at Chelsea

Real Madrid – Away Kit at Manchester City

Benfica – 3rd Kit at Ajax

Benfica – Away at Liverpool

Lille OSC – Away with black socks at Chelsea

Chelsea – Away with alternative yellow shorts (at Lille OSC and Real Madrid)

Kit Variations Stats

Looking in more detail at the Kit Variations worn by the Champions League Teams

  • Four Teams in 5 Kit variations
    • AC Milan (6 Games) – Home Kit x3, Away Kit, 3rd Kit
    • Manchester United (8 Games) – Home Kit x3, Away Kit, 3rd Kit
    • Atletico Madrid (10 Games) – Home Kit x3, Away Kit, 3rd Kit
    • Benfica (10 Games) – Home Kit x2, Away Kit x2, 3rd Kit
  • Three Teams in 4 Kit variations
    • Zenit St.Petersberg (6 Games) – Home Kit, Away x3
    • Lille OSC (8 Games) – Home Kit, Away Kit, 3rd Kit x2
    • Chelsea (10 Games) – Home Kit x2, Away Kit, 3rd Kit
  • 14 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
    • 4 Teams in Home, Away, 3rd Kits (Manchester City, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Red Bull Salzburg)
  • 11 Teams in 2 Kit Variations
  • Most variations of Home Kit – 3
    • AC Milan
    • Atletico Madrid
    • Manchester United
  • Most variatons of Away Kit – 3:
    • Zenit St.Petersburg
  • Most variations of 3rd Kit – 3:
    • Lille OSC
  • 14 Teams did not wear any Kit Variations, just default Home, Away, 3rd, 4th or Cup Kits
    • Club Brugges
    • Manchester City
    • Paris St.Germain
    • Liverpool
    • Ajax
    • Inter Milan
    • Shakhtar Donesk
    • Sheriff Tiraspol
    • Barcelona (Cup Kit and 4th Kit)
    • Dynamo Kyev
    • Bayern Munich
    • Villarreal
    • Young Boys
    • Red Bull Salzburg
  • Most worn Home Kit – 11, Villarreal (out of 12 games)
  • Most worn Away Kit – 3, Young Boys (6 Games)
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 4, Sporting Lisbon (8 Games) / Manchester City (12 games)
  • Most worn 4th Kit – 2, Barcelona

Knock Out Fixtures

Group Stage Fixtures can be found here

Kit Highlights:

Villareal wore their home kit in 11 of their 12 fixtures

Atletico Madrid wore three different home kit variations in the Champions League all against English opposition.

Borussia Dortmund were the only team in the competition not to wear a change kit, only wearing their home kit with two pairs of shorts, default black and alternative fluro yellow.

There we have it, the final kit report of the 2021 / 22 Season, congratulation to Real Madrid on their victory.

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

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

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

The Heat Press – Issue 16

Time for Issue Number 16 of The Heat Press – a brief roundup of news in the Kit World and Kit Community, to catch up on Issue 15 click here

The Headlines

  • 2022 / 23 Kit Launches
  • RKC Waalwijk Charity Kit
  • Manchester United x Adidas – 1990 / 92
  • FC Barcelona Kit Mash up

2022 / 23 Kit Launches

It is that time of the year when the Kit Launches have begun, now I am sure that will not be able to keep up with them all over the coming months but let’s give it a go with this week’s launches…

Liverpool (Home) – Liverpool, a team who traditional launch their home kit around this time of the season, normally debuting their new Home kit in their last home game, although not confirmed I expect to see that happen against in final game against Wolverhampton Wanderers…

The Nike kit sees a return to plain red, although there is nice detail in the shirt and the cuff are one of favourite part of the shirt. Also this is the first look at the Nike Goalkeeper Template for next season, Liverpool opting for the “Lilac” version of the kit…

Walsall (Home, Away, 3rd) – Walsall, who produce one of my favourite kit sets of 2021 / 22 season, which allowed 10 Kit variations to be used as the kits were designed to be whole kit set (a very happy Kit Geek Here) have launched their range of kits for next season already, again produced by Errea see the home kit being in all red, with no confirmation of the full look for away and 3rd kits but I would expect all white and all black, again giving us potential mash up options.

Barrow AFC (Home / Away) – Barrow AFC are the first team to release new kits from a new kit supplier, moving from Joma to Puma. Both shirts are an interesting look, with the home in particular something new using two shades of blue and white to create the look, the away being a black with a star like / paint splatter pattern (depending on your view).

Bayern Munich (Home) – One of Adidas flagship teams Bayern Munich have launched their home kit, a team that often mix up their look at home, will next season go for a shirt that includes white horizontal stripes, which are of various thickness..

RKC Waalwijk Charity Shirt

RKC Waalwijk played in special shirts their match against FC Groningen.

The shirts were designed by a 10 year old fan and were auctioned, the proceeds will go to Villa Pardoes, a charity that suports ill children and their families with holidays. Quite possibly the first shirt to include a snail in its design….

Manchester United x Adidas (1990 / 92)

It was confirmed this week that Adidas will be re-issuing their home shirt and goalkeeper shirt from 1990 to 1992, the designs look faithful to their originals and will be part of the Adidas Original range, the Goalkeeper shirt is a real highlight for me, not often we see these shirts reproduced.

FC Barcelona – Kit Mash Up

Although not their first team, FC Barcelona “B Team” wore a mash up of their current away kit with home shorts, for an interesting and likely a one off look…!

And Finally….

What’s happening in the Kit Community.

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

The latest Football Kit Podcast is now out, Episode 10 see Les, Denis and I return to discussion about Templates, each nominating a “Template of Doom” and “Template of Worship”, you can find the episode here or Download from your Podcast App of choice and remember to subscribe, like and give your feedback!

I was lucky enough to be give a very limited edition shirt this week, to celebrate the launch of his book “Kit and Caboodle”, Matt Riley has designed and got produced a limited number shirts. There is a competition to win one of these shirts, where you need to guess the attendance of Exeter City’s game against Port Vale on 7th May, so be quick and get your guesses in!

The book can be pre-order now here

On Thursday 5th May, there was an evening dedicated to all things Football Shirt Design, with our friends at Spark Academy along with Subside Sports and The Anfield Wrap. Although the event has now passed, there are some great videos and chat from members of the Kit Community to check out on the Subside Sport Timeline, with another friend of ours Chris Chats Shirts making some wonderful videos so those of us that could not attend the event still get a feel of the goings on and feel part of this great event.

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in future issues, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter