Kit (association football) - Knowledge (XXG)

782: 618:. Rather than the numbers being added to the clubs' existing strips, two special sets, one white and one red, were made for the final and allocated to the two teams by the toss of a coin. The Everton players wore numbers 1–11, while the City players wore 12–22. It was not until around the time of the Second World War that numbering became standard, with teams wearing numbers 1–11. Although there were no regulations on which player should wear which number, specific numbers came to be associated with specific positions on the field of play, examples of which were the number 9 shirt for the team's main 3794: 599:

to their shirts. In 1909, in a bid to assist referees in identifying the goalkeeper amongst a ruck of players, the rules were amended to state that the goalkeeper must wear a shirt of a different colour to their team-mates. Initially it was specified that goalkeepers' shirts must be either scarlet or royal blue, but when green was added as a third option in 1912 it caught on to the extent that soon almost every goalkeeper was playing in green. In this period goalkeepers generally wore a heavy woollen garment more akin to a

311:. Since the 1980s significant advancements have been made in the design of gloves, which now feature protectors to prevent the fingers bending backwards, segmentation to allow greater flexibility, and palms made of materials designed to protect the hand and to enhance a player's grip. Gloves are available in a variety of different cuts, including "flat palm", "roll finger" and "negative", with variations in the stitching and fit. Goalkeepers sometimes also wear caps to prevent 234: 106: 4032: 431: 635: 538:, which had been formed two years earlier, ruled that no two member teams could register similar colours, so as to avoid clashes. This rule was later abandoned in favour of one stipulating that all teams must have a second set of shirts in a different colour available. Initially the home team was required to change colours in the event of a clash, but in 1921 the rule was amended to require the away team to change. 4893: 679:, the southern European style spread to the rest of the continent and by the end of the decade the heavy shirts and boots of the pre-war years had fallen entirely out of use. The 1960s saw little innovation in kit design, with clubs generally opting for simple colour schemes which looked good under the newly adopted floodlights. Designs from the late 1960s and early 1970s are highly regarded by football fans. 4913: 583: 3764: 283: 33: 3779: 690: 3749: 4923: 3807: 352: 4903: 461: 851: 209: 258:, feature increasingly intricate, scientifically aided designs and features such as air pockets in the soles and rubber "blades" on the sole rather than studs. The blades have been the subject of controversy as several top managers have blamed them for injuries both to opposition players and to the wearers themselves. 422:(rule XXI) as early as 1845: "No player may wear cap or jersey without leave from the head of his house". In 1848, it was noted at Rugby that "considerable improvement has taken place in the last few years, in the appearance of a match... in the use of peculiar dress consisting of velvet caps and jerseys". 1249:

England sometimes choose to wear their red at home even though they could wear their white, as against Germany in the last match played at Wembley Stadium. The Football Association wished to invoke the spirit of 1966, when, in their finest moment at Wembley, England beat West Germany in the World Cup

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wore numbers on their shorts rather than their shirts until 1975 for international matches, and until 1994 for domestic matches. The 1930s also saw great advancements in boot manufacture, with new synthetic materials and softer leathers becoming available. By 1936 players in Europe were wearing boots

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dropped its rule that players' knickerbockers must cover their knees and teams began wearing them much shorter. They became known as "knickers", and were referred to by this term until the 1960s when "shorts" became the preferred term. Initially, almost all teams wore knickers of a contrasting colour

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Organised association football was first played in England in the 1860s, and many teams would probably play in whatever clothing they had available, with players of the same team distinguishing themselves by wearing coloured caps or sashes. The Sheffield club rules in 1857 required members to acquire

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than a jersey. Officials wear shirts of a different colour to those worn by the two teams and their goalkeepers. Black is the traditional colour worn by officials, and "the man in black" is widely used as an informal term for a referee, although increasingly other colours are being used in the modern

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Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be made either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, and have studs attached to the soles. Studs may be either moulded directly to the

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mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Most professional clubs have sponsors' logos on the front of their shirts, which can generate significant levels of income, and some also offer sponsors the chance to place their logos on the back of

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It is normal for individual competitions to specify that all outfield players on a team must wear the same colours, though the Law states only "The two teams must wear colours that distinguish them from each other and also the referee and the assistant referees". In the event of a match between teams

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on the backs of their shirts. Originally a team of players wore numbers from 1 to 11, corresponding roughly to their playing positions, but at the professional level this has generally been superseded by squad numbering, whereby each player in a squad is allocated a fixed number for the duration of a

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in 1954. Although they cost twice as much as existing styles, the boots were a huge success and cemented the German company's place in the football market. Around the same time Adidas also developed the first boots with screw-in studs which could be changed according to pitch conditions. Other areas

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must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the same colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and "provide

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claimed that the reason why his team was losing 3–0 was that the players could not see each other on the pitch. United switched to different colours for the second half and scored one goal without reply. The leading leagues also introduced squad numbers, whereby each player is allocated a specific

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may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. A player's number is usually printed on the back of the shirt, although international teams often also place numbers on the front, and professional teams generally print a player's surname above their

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and heavy rigid leather boots. In the twentieth century, boots became lighter and softer, shorts were worn at a shorter length, and advances in clothing manufacture and printing allowed shirts to be made in lighter synthetic fibres with increasingly colourful and complex designs. With the rise of

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in 1860 refers to the Sheffield side wearing their "usual scarlet and white", and the Hallam players a "blue garment". One report of an 1860 match played to an indeterminate code, between Spalding Football Club and Spalding Victoria, refers to Spalding as the "pinks" and Victoria as the "blues".

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The market for replica shirts has grown enormously, with the revenue generated for leading clubs and the frequency with which they change designs coming under increased scrutiny, especially in the United Kingdom, where the market for replicas is worth in excess of £200m. Several clubs have been

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As the game gradually moved away from being a pursuit for wealthy amateurs to one dominated by working-class professionals, kits changed accordingly. The clubs themselves, rather than individual players, were now responsible for purchasing kit and financial concerns, along with the need for the

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Limiting colours simply to caps or sashes proved to be problematic though, and an 1867 handbook of the game suggested that teams should attempt "if it can be previously so arranged, to have one side with striped jerseys of one colour, say red, and the other with another, say blue. This prevents

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A (relatively) affordable route into the Premiership has opened up for sponsors after the airline Emirates decided that this season will be its last as the official partner of top-flight referees....The successor will get exposure – its logo on the whistlers' shirt sleeves will be seen in 204

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players lined up in long baggy shorts. Although, the new look was derided, clubs in Britain and elsewhere had within a short time adopted the longer shorts. In the 1990s shirt designs became increasingly complex, with many teams sporting extremely gaudy colour schemes. Design decisions were

489:, one of the schools where the sport had developed. Their original colours of light blue and white were chosen to reflect an association with Cambridge University, where a number of the club's founders had been educated. Colours and designs often changed dramatically between matches, with 666:. In the 1950s kits worn by players in southern Europe and South America became much more lightweight, with V-necks replacing collars on shirts and synthetic fabrics replacing heavy natural fibres. The first boots to be cut below the ankle rather than high-topped were introduced by 773:

experimented with printing players' names on their shirts and allocating each player a squad number rather than simply numbering the 11 players starting a game from 1 to 11, but these ideas did not catch on at the time in other countries, although Italy's

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were slower to adopt the new styles – British clubs again resisted change and stuck resolutely to kits little different from those worn before the war, and Eastern European teams continued to wear kits that were deemed old-fashioned elsewhere. The

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specify the minimum kit which a player must use, and also prohibit the use of anything that is dangerous to either the player or another participant. Individual competitions may stipulate further restrictions, such as regulating the size of

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number for the duration of a season. A brief fad arose for players celebrating goals by lifting or completely removing their shirts to reveal political, religious or personal slogans printed on undershirts. This led to a ruling from the

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Most professional clubs have retained the same basic colour scheme for several decades, and the colours themselves form an integral part of a club's culture. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear

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For a supporter, whether or not he lives in the city of the team, the team colours are the most important symbol of his football faith, dominating any other symbol or cultural meaning such as nation, class or political

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team of 1894 sporting typical kit of the era, including heavy jersey, long shorts, heavy high-topped boots and shin pads worn outside the stockings. Goalkeepers wore the same shirts as their team-mates at this point in

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All players are permitted to wear gloves, and goalkeepers usually wear specialist goalkeeping gloves. Prior to the 1970s gloves were rarely worn, but it is now extremely unusual to see a goalkeeper without gloves. In

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to rule in 1863 that no nails could project from boots. By the 1880s these crude attachments had become studs. Boots of this era were made of heavy leather, had hard toecaps, and came high above a player's ankles.

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Specialised football boots began to emerge in the professional era, taking the place of everyday shoes or work boots. Players initially simply nailed strips of leather to their boots to enhance their grip, leading

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pads and wore them outside his stockings. Initially the concept was ridiculed but it soon caught on with other players. By the turn of the century pads had become smaller and were being worn inside the stockings.

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began to design shirts with increasingly intricate designs, as new technology led to the introduction of such design elements as shadow prints and pinstripes. Hummel's distinctive halved strip designed for the

509:, an early star of the game, was noted for always being resplendent in long white trousers. There were no numbers printed on shirts to identify individual players, and the programme for an 1875 match between 265:

made international headlines by swapping its old strip for a new one featuring short skirts and tight-fitting shirts. This innovation, which had been requested by the team itself, was initially vetoed by the

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a reasonable degree of protection". The only other restriction on equipment defined is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything deemed dangerous to himself or another player.

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increasingly driven by the need for the shirt to look good when worn by fans as a fashion item, but many designs from this era have since come to be regarded as amongst the worst of all time. In 1996,

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the club sold more than one million shirts bearing his name. A market has also developed for shirts worn by players during significant matches, which are sold as collector's items. The shirt worn by

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to display its logo on the front of their shirts. Soon almost all major clubs had signed such deals, and the cost to companies who sponsor large teams has increased dramatically. In 2008 German club

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team that toured Western Europe in 1945 drew almost as much comment for the players' long baggy shorts as for the quality of their football. With the advent of international competitions such as the

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As the game began to spread to Europe and beyond, clubs adopted kits similar to those worn in the United Kingdom, and in some cases chose colours directly inspired by British clubs. In 1903,

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It's only a slight exaggeration to say that the Dynamo side looked like they came from Mars – they wore very dark blue tops and extremely baggy shorts with a blue band round the bottom.

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was the first in which FIFA dispensed with black kits for officials. Referees also sometimes have sponsors' logos on their shirts, although these are normally confined to the sleeves.

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growing numbers of spectators to easily identify the players, led to the lurid colours of earlier years being abandoned in favour of simple combinations of primary colours. In 1890,

331:, was known for his distinctive wraparound goggles. Other items that may be dangerous to other players, such as jewellery, however, are not allowed. Players may also choose to wear 153:

who would normally wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. Because of this requirement a team's second-choice is often referred to as its

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number. The captain of each team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify them as the captain to the referee and supporters.

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white jerseys with red, white, and blue caps. Many clubs opted for colours associated with the schools or other sporting organisations from which the clubs had emerged.

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Sporadic experiments with numbered shirts took place in the 1920s but the idea did not initially catch on. The first major match in which numbers were worn was the

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Indeed, when Don Revie took over at Leeds in the early 1960s he changed their kit from blue and gold to all white, modelling his new charges on the Spanish giants.

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notoriously introduced a grey strip which had been specifically designed to look good when worn with jeans, but abandoned it halfway through a match after manager

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in common with other sporting teams of the same nation. These are usually based on the colours of the country's national flag, although there are exceptions—the

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which weighed only a third of the weight of the rigid boots of a decade earlier, although British clubs did not adopt the new-style boots, with players such as

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The chance for fans to purchase a shirt bearing the name and number of a star player can lead to significant revenue for a club. In the first six months after

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of England, which included a reference to a pair of football boots. The earliest evidence of coloured shirts used to identify football teams comes from early

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their shirts. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed. Competitions such as the

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logo on their shirts while donating €1.5 million to the charity per year. Players also began to sign sponsorship deals with individual companies. In 1974

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The first standard strips emerged with the founding of the FA, the Football Association's initial minutes recording some of the club colours, such as the

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where they wore white and dark blue rather than their first choice of orange and yellow, respectively; and the match between Netherlands and Spain in the

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set out the basic equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4 (Players' Equipment). Five separate items are specified: shirt (also known as a

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refused to allow sponsors' logos to appear on their shirts as recently as 2005. Until 2011 Barcelona refused paying sponsors in favour of wearing the

165:. In some cases both teams have been forced (or chose) to wear their second choice away kits; such as the match between Netherlands and Brazil in the 161:

sometimes plays in red shirts even when their white standard kit does not clash with their opponent, as this was the strip worn when the team won the

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season. Professional clubs also usually display players' surnames or nicknames on their shirts, above (or, infrequently, below) their squad numbers.

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in television pictures. Shorts became shorter than ever during the 1970s and 1980s, and often included the player's number on the front. In the

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added names to players' shirts in 1980. The names were removed in 1981 and for many years they would not be adopted by any other team in Italy.

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displayed on shirts and stating that, in the event of a match between teams with identical or similar colours, the away team must change to

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football from before 1840 is entitled "The commoners have red and the college boys blue jerseys" and such colours are mentioned again in a

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in 2002 that undershirts must not contain slogans or logos; since 2004 it has been a bookable offence for players to remove their shirts.

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The cost of replica kit – and the number of times new versions come on the market – has long been a bone of contention for football fans.

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in 1975: "short shorts" were the norm from the mid-1960s to the early-90s, when they changed back to a classic longer and baggier form.

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In the period immediately after the war, many teams in Europe were forced to wear unusual kits due to clothing restrictions. England's

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turning out in both pink shirts and white shirts with red spots within the same year. Rather than the modern shorts, players wore long

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one red and one dark blue cap, in order to form teams within the membership for matches, and a report of a match between Sheffield and

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where they wore dark blue and white rather than their home colors of orange and red, respectively. Many professional clubs also have a

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By the early 20th century, shorts had become shorter and goalkeepers wore shirts of a different colour, as seen in this photograph of

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The rules specify that all players, regardless of gender, must wear the same kit, however in September 2008 the Dutch women's team

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as long as there is no risk of them falling off or breaking and thereby becoming dangerous. Most players affected choose to wear

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in Glasgow identifies the players by the colours of their caps or stockings. The first shin pads were worn in 1874 by the

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Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts,

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advertising in the 20th century, sponsors' logos began to appear on shirts, and replica strips were made available for

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initially added "invisible" black sleeves to comply with the ruling, but later supplied the team with new one-piece

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openly pronouncing their disdain for the new footwear and claiming that it was more suited to ballet than football.

177:, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. 4945: 3799: 957: 872: 4514: 4010: 2926: 2089: 1475: 949: 765:$ 120,000 to wear their boots and specifically requested that he bend down and tie his laces at the start of the 494: 374:

wear kits of a similar style to that worn by players; until the 1950s it was more common for a referee to wear a

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later ruled that such garments were not considered to be shirts and therefore were not permitted. Manufacturers

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in the form of replicas. Driven by commercial concerns, other clubs soon followed suit, adding manufacturers'

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A number of advances in kit design have taken place since 2000, with varying degrees of success. In 2002 the

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final, ensuring a close-up of the boots for a worldwide television audience. In the 1970s, the U.S.-based

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neckwarmers ended in 2011 when the IFAB banned them as potentially dangerous. A ban on women wearing the

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The first written evidence of a clothing item specifically dedicated to football comes in 1526, from the

343:'s use of rugby helmets, as long as it presents no risk to the safety of the wearer or any other player. 5474: 4335: 4005: 3914: 2674: 1611: 676: 490: 482: 5405: 3038: 2526: 1991: 457:

from 1868 also included return forms which asked club secretaries to include details of club colours.

5464: 5433: 5261: 4542: 4524: 4355: 4274: 4125: 4075: 3873: 3641: 3617: 3587: 2605: 802: 615: 522: 510: 44: 2903: 1444:"Regulations Relating to Advertising on the Clothing of Players, Club Officials and match Officials" 1093:"Interpretation of the laws of the game and guidelines for referees: Law 4 – The Players' Equipment" 5517: 5418: 4985: 4758: 4313: 3552: 3211: 1754: 926: 899: 815: 766: 535: 478: 380: 166: 162: 4912: 233: 105: 5443: 5337: 5252: 5145: 5061: 4868: 4773: 4547: 4498: 4291: 4015: 2869: 485:, for example, adopted shirts of a halved design based on those of the team for former pupils of 409: 2703: 2642: 2636: 1581: 5479: 5286: 5170: 4445: 4234: 3980: 3950: 3338: 3285: 2849: 2646: 2352: 2286: 1939: 1705: 1560: 1532: 1315: 1185: 969: 827: 702: 607: 560: 315:

from the sun or floodlights affecting their performance. Players with sight problems may wear

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and the number 1 shirt for the goalkeeper. In contrast to the usual practice, Scottish club

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Rock 'n' Roll Soccer: The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League

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to protect themselves from head injury, or to prevent further such injuries, such as

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sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread. Modern boots such as the

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