Best Football Kits of all Time: Greatest Football Kits Ever

Football kits have always been the talk of the town in sporting history, with some big teams donning some creative jerseys manufactured by the biggest. Jerseys are no longer football kits, they reflect fashion, style, culture and creativity. They cater to the large fanbase who take pride in wearing their favourite team's kit. For instance, Belgium launched a Tintin-inspired kit for the UEFA Euro 2024. There have been many iconic and creative kits over the years, earning shouts for best football kits of all time.

Football kits help distinguish players on the field and represent a team. They are usually known for their traditional colours, 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. Over the years, numerous kits have caught the attention of fans for their design uniqueness or even the success they have brought to the team. In this article, we are going to explore the list of iconic kits that turned into popular collectables, owing to their legacy among fans.

Best Football Kits Ever: Top 10 List

Here's the table below, listed with the top 10 best football kit of all time that we have compiled on the basis of several factors and criteria that will be explained further in the best football kits of all time article.

Criteria Behind Ranking the Greatest Football Kits

Below listed are the criteria taken into consideration for selecting the best football kits of all time. The criteria are split into various factors, like quality of the kit, comfort, and historical importance of the jersey, which have been considered to pick best football kits ever

• Quality: The quality of a football kit is our primary criterion, which relies on the materials used and how well it is made and designed. Though all the listed kits are made by renowned sportswear brands that assure quality.
• Comfort: Comfort is important for players who need kits that let them play easily while on the pitch. Players can do better when they wear lightweight fabrics that fit well and don't feel restricted.
• Historic Context: The last factor is the historic context, which looks at how important the kit was during a key time in football history. Over time, kits were worn during famous games, tournaments or by famous players.

Which is the Best Football Kit of all Time?

After going through the list of best football kits of all time, and the ranking factors upon which the ranking has been done. Let's take a look at these famous football shirts in brief, which include several kits from International and club football.

10. Belgium (Adidas)

The Belgium national football team's primary colours are red, yellow, and black, and they’ve mostly worn different variations of those colours. In 1984, the Red Devils introduced a mostly red kit for the Euros in 1984. It had a white band towards the chest area, inside which there were diamonds in red, yellow, and black forming an argyle pattern 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 the Euros group stages that year.

9. Cameroon (Puma)

Regarded as one of the best teams in Africa, Cameroon and Puma made a weird attempt at trying something new, which deserves to be on the list of greatest football kits. Inspired by the basketball vests, the Cameroon national football team took the field in sleeveless kits in the 2002 AFCON in Mali. They introduced sleeveless jerseys in 2002; however, many of the players chose to wear a black half-sleeve t-shirt under it. The Indomitable Lions went on to win the AFCON, but success fell short as Cameroon were eliminated in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup. Moreover, sleeveless jerseys were banned for life by FIFA.

8. England (Umbro)

The England national football team had one of the most iconic football kits during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted in Italy. 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. This iconic kit is fondly remembered by English fans and was manufactured by the British sports manufacturer, Umbro. The Three Lions reached the semi-finals of that World Cup but lost to West Germany on penalties.

7. Manchester United (Adidas)

One of the most successful clubs in the world, Manchester United have been producing stunning kits for the past two to three decades. Another excellent kit from the same year was Manchester United’s away kit for the 1990-91 season, which is termed as the greatest football kits. It was a blue and white shirt with blue leaves on a white background and blue stripes on the sleeves made by Adidas. The shorts were solid blue with white stripes on the side. The Red Devils won the European Cup Winners’ Cup that season.

6. Ajax (Adidas)

This is perhaps one of the best football kits ever. The Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam made an appealing home shirt for the 1971-72 season. It was a solid white shirt with a thick red vertical block in the middle and a circular white strip collar. They were paired with solid white shorts and white socks with red stripes on top. In that year, Ajax won the Eredivisie, the Dutch Cup, and the European Cup in this kit, with the legendary Johan Cruyff making it more famous, along with the success the kit brought the Amsterdam-based team.

5. Arsenal (Adidas)

Arsenal is one of the most supported clubs in the world, and their famous ‘bruised banana’ kit is widely recalled by the fans as the best football kit of all time. Arsenal’s away kit was produced by Adidas from the 1991-92 season. 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 trophies in that kit. That Arsenal shirt has become one of the most desired kits among football shirt collectors due to its uniqueness.

4. Netherlands (Adidas)

The Netherlands national football team and Adidas produced an excellent kit in 1988, which also helped them to glory that year, winning the UEFA European Championship. It was the first-ever major trophy as they beat the Soviet Union in the final in Germany. The kit had its 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. This kit was also from Adidas, and the greatest Dutch players of all time graced this jersey, further elevating its worth

3. Nigeria (Nike)

The Nigeria national football team kit at the 2018 FIFA World Cup was definitely one of the greatest football kits. It became so popular that it even brought support to the team from other fans. That Nike 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.

2. Brazil (Athleta)

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 the colours of the Brazilian logo well. This kit was also iconic as the Brazil national football team went on to win the 1970 World Cup, hammering the Italy national football team 4-1 in the final in Mexico. Some of the greatest Brazilian footballers of all time such as Pelé and Jairzinho, donned this kit made by Athleta. One of the late Pele’s most iconic pictures, as he celebrates the World Cup triumph, is also in this kit.

1. West Germany (Adidas)

West Germany’s kit from the 1990 FIFA World Cup deserves to be at the top of the list as the best football kit of all time. It was a white shirt with three stripes in the colour 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 the Argentina national football team 1-0 in the final in Rome. Their squad comprised icons such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthaus, hailed as some of the best German players of all time.