Kit
Football kit and shirts
A football kit is more than a shirt — it is the matching set of shirt, shorts and socks worn by every player on a team, designed to be clearly distinguishable from the opposition and the officials. This guide covers what goes into a kit and the rules around how it can be worn.
What a football kit is
A kit is the matching set of clothing worn by every player on a team — a shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of socks.
Every outfield player on a team wears the same kit, so the referee, the opposition and the spectators can see at a glance which side a player is on. The goalkeeper wears colours that distinguish them from the outfield players and the match officials, again so they can be identified quickly. Players also wear shin guards underneath the socks, but those are a separate piece of equipment and are covered on their own page.
At professional level a kit also carries a club crest, a manufacturer's logo, a shirt sponsor, a number, and often the player's name on the back. Each of those elements is regulated by competition rules. Underneath the visible kit, players often wear undershorts, base layers and tape, all of which have to match the main kit colour at that point of the body.
Home, away and third kits
Most professional clubs and national teams have more than one kit, used in different matches across the season.
Home kit
The kit worn for home matches and for any away match where there is no clash with the opposition. The home kit usually uses the club's traditional colours and is the design most strongly associated with the team.
Away kit
The kit worn when the home kit would clash with the opposition. The away kit is usually built around a different primary colour, chosen so that it will not clash with most opposition teams.
Third kit
An optional second alternative kit, used when both the home and away kits would clash with the opposition. Not every team has one. Third kits often use a colour or design that would not normally be associated with the club.
Goalkeeper kits
Goalkeepers wear their own kit set in a colour distinct from every other player on the pitch. Most teams have two or three goalkeeper kits across a season, often in bright greens, yellows, oranges or pinks.
Kit colour and clash rules
The colour rules are designed to keep every player easy to identify, even at speed and at distance.
Under Law 4, each team must wear colours that distinguish it from the other team, the referee and the assistant referees. Goalkeepers must wear colours that distinguish them from the other players and from the match officials. Where there is a clash, the away team usually changes, but competitions can set their own rules about which team has to switch and which kit they must wear.
Some clashes are more subtle than others. A bright shirt against a dark one is straightforward, but two teams in similar shades of red and orange, or in dark blue against black, can be much harder to tell apart on television. Competition rules often include separate clash checks for the shirt, shorts and socks, since a player can be identified by any one of the three.
Numbering and naming
The numbers and names on a shirt are part of how players are identified, both on the pitch and on the team sheet.
A shirt carries the player's squad number on the back, and often on the front and on one leg of the shorts as well. The traditional link between shirt numbers and positions — number 1 for the goalkeeper, 2 for the right back, and so on — has loosened over time, but most teams still use the lower numbers for defenders and the higher ones for attackers. Squad numbers stay with a player for the season at the top level, so the right back wearing 35 keeps that number rather than changing it for each match.
The player's name is usually printed above the number on the back of the shirt. Competition rules set the height of the number, the height of the lettering, and the typeface, so that shirts from different teams in the same competition all look consistent. Some leagues add the player's name on the front as well, others do not.
Captain's armband and other markings
A shirt carries more than the number and the name. Several small markings have their own rules.
Captain's armband
A coloured band worn on the upper arm of the team captain. The armband is the outward sign of who the captain is and is used by the referee to identify the player who speaks for the team. Under the Laws, the armband must be issued or authorised by the competition organiser, or be a single-coloured armband that may include the word 'captain', the letter 'C' or a translation. If the captain is substituted, the armband is passed to the new captain.
Sponsor logo
The shirt sponsor's logo, usually printed across the front of the shirt. Some competitions allow a second sponsor on the sleeve and a smaller logo on the back. Some national leagues restrict particular sponsor categories, especially where they are age-restricted, political or otherwise unsuitable for that competition.
Competition badges
A small embroidered or printed badge on the sleeve showing which competition the shirt is being worn in. Different competitions use different sleeve badges, so a single team can wear several variations across a season.
Awareness and tribute markings
Black armbands, remembrance markings, campaign laces and special captain's armbands can all be used for approved causes or tributes. These markings are usually subject to competition approval.
Fabric and fit
The materials and fit of a football shirt have changed substantially since the days of heavy cotton.
Modern football shirts are made from lightweight synthetic fabrics, usually a polyester base with stretch panels and mesh sections under the arms and across the back. The fabric is designed to draw sweat away from the skin and dry quickly during the match. Replica shirts sold to supporters are made of similar but slightly heavier fabrics and a looser cut.
At professional level, the player's match shirt is often a tighter, slimmer cut than the version sold to supporters. The tighter fit is harder for an opponent to grab in a challenge, although a referee can still award a foul for shirt-pulling regardless of how the shirt fits. Below the top level, most clubs use the same replica cut as their supporters.
Competition rules on kit
Each competition adds its own rules on top of the Laws of the Game.
Competition rules typically cover the placement and size of sponsor logos, the colour and style of numbering, the badges worn on the sleeve, and the approval process for any non-standard markings. Some competitions limit the number of sponsors on a shirt; others restrict particular categories of sponsor.
International matches add a further layer. National team shirts often carry the badge of the national association rather than a sponsor, and the rules around numbering and lettering are set by the international tournament organisers. National teams in major tournaments are also assigned a fixed first-choice and second-choice kit for the duration of the tournament.
What to read next
The kit and the shirt numbers go together — and so do kit colours and the goalkeeper's separate set of equipment.