The appreciation for a good football shirt design and the knowing nod of appreciation exchanged with a stranger as you pass in the street, acknowledging the obscure banger of a kit that you’ve chosen and the fact that it’s been recognised, is a beautiful thing. With that in mind we’ve collected together 10 of the best kits from 2022 that you may never have seen, but that would be sure to get you some kudos when next you stroll down the high street.
OK, so let’s start by qualifying the fact that yes, there will be plenty of football shirt aficionados reading this that will have seen some or maybe even all of the shirts on this list. If that’s you then well done. But on the whole what we have here are some of the best shirts of the year that either haven’t been given the attention they deserve, or that have simply flown under the radar somewhat, whether that’s due to the geographic location they’ve been released in or the fact that they belong to lower league teams. There are thousands of shirts across the globe, and this is a mere sample of some of the best that don’t get the spotlight as readily as the heavyweight teams of the world; a collection of absolutely beautiful designs that you would be thrilled to have as your club’s shirt. Sure, they won't all be for you, but then you'll love others, and that's another endearing aspect of Jersey Culture. So sit back and enjoy scrolling through before desperately searching the web to see where you can pick your favourite ones up.
Valour FC Home
Starting things off in the Canadian Premier League, and there's something about that offset colour combination that just hits right for us. That classy collar and the gold accents then give it a nice final flourish.
Las Vegas Lights Home
If ever a shirt encapsulated its home city, it's this one: bright lights, big city and jazzy as. A stonking reemergence for Barcelona-based brand Meyba.
San Diego Loyal Third
So good it really should be illegal. Inspired by the city’s Mexican and Mexican American population and border-town communities in the Baja California region, this "Siempre Leal" kit from Mexican brand Charly is an absolute work of art.
Galway United Home
No, it's not an adidas shirt despite what the Three Stripes may lead you to believe. Nope, this bespoke beauty was designed in-house by Irish side Galway United, then produced by sports-wear partner O’Neill’s Sports, who actually used that style branding before adidas and won a court battle against them. But enough on that, the shirt design honours the historic status as the ‘City of Tribes’ and it features rich Celtic-inspired Tribal Iconography celebrating Galway and the diversity of its people.
Portobello FC Third
For those of you that haven't heard of Portobello FC, they're a new London-based team that have already established themselves as one of the most stylish out there. See, we could quite easily featured any one of their home, away or third shirts, but as it is we went with the quite unique third. The club collaborated with London-based street artist FacesorFaces to produce this limited edition, graffiti-style football kit.
Brøndby IF Away
OK, so this is one you may have seen, given that it has gone on to become the Danish side's fastest selling away shirt in their history. But we'll still argue that outside of Denmark, you may not have encountered it as readily. Predominantly blue with yellow trim, it arrives with an eye-catching all-over graffiti pattern that celebrates the rich culture of the club and its fans. Hummel doing their fellow countrymen a solid.
Vasco Da Gama Home
If we were looking for a winner from this group then we'd probably not go any further than this. This retro-fuelled beauty from Kappa sees the Brazilian side’s classic white-sash-on-black base embellished with a neat, stylised V-neck and the famed red cross in the crest position. Interestingly there's a big difference between the long sleeve and short sleeve versions, with the Kappa's Omini logos switching from the sides of the trunk on the short-sleeved shirt to appear on the lower part of the sleeves on the long-sleeved version. With that and no sponsors you can just take our money right now.
SSC Bari Special Edition Home
A sneaky addition to this list given its special edition status, but it's just so good it would be a shame not to feature it. Kappa teamed up with designer Leonardo Colacicco for the limited edition release, which was worn in the regional championship derby against Fidelis Andria back in March. If you can get hold of one of these now, then you're sure to be on for some serious kudos from fellow shirt aficionados next time you wear it to do your weekly Lidl shop.
Club Olimpia Third
Inspired by the mythical Forest of Para Uno, Paraguayan side Club Olimpia's third shirt is an absolute masterclass in bespoke brilliance. The shirt combines green with golden accents, while a sublimated triangular pattern across the body lends the whole design a luxurious depth.
Legones Negros Home
Unapologetically brash, this one is likely to be like Marmite, not because of the colour scheme but more in that you'll either love it or hate it. The Sporelli-produced design for the Mexican side is quite striking in a very literal sense, with Club Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara's usual stripes given a lightning bolt effect.
A.S. Gubbio 1910 Alternate Cup Home Kit
Yes, one extra to the ten previously promised, but this one deserves a special call out seeing as it was another from the end of the 21/22 season that will likely never be seen again. The added texture in the body, the execution of the cross, the collar and cuff detail, all for an alternate kit that was only used a handful of times by an tier three Italian team. Seems such a waste.
Shop 22/23 replica at prodirectsoccer.com
