Best football kits of all time, from Nigeria’s 2018 design to Manchester United’s 1990 Classic
Football kits have become the talk of the town in recent years, with some big teams donning some creative jerseys in recent times. Belgium recently launched a TinTin-inspired kit for the UEFA Euro 2024 and there have been many iconic and creative kits over the years.
Football kits help distinguish players on the field and also represent a team. Many teams are known for their traditional colors like Chelsea being called ‘The Blues’ while Liverpool being called ‘The Reds’. Fans also await a new kit each season to find out new designs and decide whether to buy them or not.
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On that note, let’s take a look at some of the best football kits of all time:
Belgium | 1984
Belgium’s primary colors are red, yellow, and black, and they’ve mostly worn different variations of that color.
In 1984, the Red Devils introduced a mostly red kit. It had a white band towards the chest area, inside which there were diamonds in red, yellow, and black with the team’s logo in the middle. The shorts also had yellow stripes on each side.
Belgium, though, had a tough time with that kit as they were eliminated in Euros group stages that year.
Cameroon | 2002
Cameroon’s attempt at trying something new deserves to be on the list of the best football kits of all time. They introduced sleeveless jerseys in 2002. Most of the players chose to wear a black half-sleeve t-shirt under it.
Cameroon were eliminated in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup. Moreover, sleeveless jerseys were banned for life.
England | 1990
England had one of the most iconic football kits during the 1990 World Cup. The home kit was primarily white with some light grey patterns, along with a navy blue collar and a navy blue pattern on the edge of the sleeve as well.
The Three Lions reached the final of that World Cup but lost against Italy in the final.
Manchester United | 1990
Another excellent kit from the same year was Manchester United’s away kit for the 1990-91 season. It was a blue and white shirt with blue leaves on a white background and blue stripes on the sleeves. The shorts were solid blue with white stripes on the side.
The Red Devils won the European Cup Winners’ Cup that season.
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Ajax | 1971
This is perhaps one of the most iconic football kits of all time. Ajax’s home kit for the 1971-72 season was a solid white shirt with a thick red vertical block in the middle. They were paired with solid white shorts and white socks with red stripes on top.
Ajax won the Eredivisie, the Dutch Cup, and the European Cup in this kit with the legendary Johan Cryuff making it more famous.
Arsenal | 1991
Many regard Arsenal’s away kit from the 1991-92 season as one of the best football kits of all time. It was famously known as the ‘bruised banana’ kit. It had a yellow shirt with a black zig-zag horizontal pattern. It was paired with solid black shorts with yellow stripes on the side.
The Gunners, unfortunately, didn’t win any trophy in that kit.
Netherlands | 1988
The Netherlands produced an excellent kit in 1988, which also helped them to glory that year. They had their traditional orange-colored kit but the shirt had a white-shaded pattern on it, which converged towards the collar area. It was paired with solid orange shorts.
The Dutch won their first-ever Euros that year, beating the Soviet Union in the final in Germany.
Nigeria | 2018
Nigeria’s kit at the 2018 FIFA World Cup is definitely one of the most iconic football kits of all time. It became so popular that it even brought support to the team from other fans. The kit had a green arrow pattern over white on the shirt’s body with a black pattern on the sleeves. It was paired with solid white shorts.
The kit became so popular that it was sold out within days of release. It didn’t help Nigeria on the pitch, though, as they were eliminated at the group stage at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Brazil | 1970
This was the iconic yellow kit with green color on the neck and sleeve edges and was paired with blue shorts. It was really clean and represented all colors of the Brazilian logo well.
This kit was also iconic as Brazil went on to win the 1970 World Cup, hammering Italy 4-1 in the final in Mexico. The legendary team had the likes of Pele and Jairzinho. One of the late Pele’s most iconic pictures, as he celebrates the World Cup, is also in this kit.
West Germany | 1990
West Germany’s kit from the 1990 World Cup deserves to be at the top of the list of best football kits of all time. It was a white shirt with three stripes in the color of the German flag going horizontally from the chest area. It also had black stripes on the sides of the sleeves and was paired with solid black shorts.
West Germany won their third World Cup trophy in this kit, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final in Rome. Their squad comprised icons such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthaus.