General question about soccer/football uniforms

[mjrbaseball]

I thought I understood soccer/football uniforms, but after seeing more matches lately than I usually do, I'm not so sure. So I am just looking for what the usual pattern is.

How many uniforms (kits, I guess is the proper term) does each team have? Home, away and what? Is there any rule or guideline as to which team wears what? Also, do goalkeepers wear one of those kits, or do they wear a distinct (fourth? fifth?) kit? Can they wear one of the main kits if there is no clash with the other team? Finally, how many different kits do referees have? I have seen them in all different colors. Is their kit decided before or after the teams' kits are selected?

I know, a lot of questions. I am mainly interested in how it is done in England, but also in general practice in all higher leagues, and in international play. Thank you.

[TalktoChuck]

The number of kits depends on the team. There isn't a real limitation on the number. But most of the time you have a primary, clash, third and then sometimes they'll have a fourth kit reserved for certain cups/tournaments. Primary kits are worn most often, and the clash is reserved for when their primary kit clashes with the home teams primary kit (or whatever kit the home team decides to wear).The goalies wear a completely different kit, in a color that won't appear anywhere else on the pitch, so the refs can easily identify them. The same goes for refs. They will wear a color that doesn't appear anywhere else on the pitch, so the players can identify them easily. So, in soccer, the name of the uniform game is color. That pretty much decides everything.

[Billy B]

He pretty much nailed it. Home team gets to pick what they wear, then the visiting team will wear something that clashes. That will most likely be their primary as long as it's a different color than what the home team is wearing. The shirts obviously have to clash, sometimes same color shorts or socks will be allowed but that usually isn't the case. As far as goalkeepers go, most of the time they wear a completely different kit than the rest of the team (most of the time manufacturers will have these just templated out in different colors), but there are some rare occurrences where a goalkeeper will wear a team's third kit or something like that as long as it doesn't clash with everything else.

[cmbuk]

In the premiership every team HAS to have 3 kits.. Championship and below.. Only 2

[Kevin W.]

Each team usually has three. In the case of a lot of Premiership clubs, they've introduced two new kits every year and used last year's away kit as their new third kit. For example, last year Manchester United had their standard red, a black-and-blue striped away kit and the previous year's white kit as their third kit. You usually only wear the third kit when absolutely necessary. United wore it in their match at Basel in the Champions League last year since Basel's primary kit has red and blue stripes, so there was a color clash with both of United's primary and away kits. Thus, they brought back the white kit.

[-kj]

In the premiership every team HAS to have 3 kits.. Championship and below.. Only 2

Not sure where you got this info; I don't think Norwich has had a third kit so far in their return to the Prem.

[Gothamite]

I don't know where that rule came from, either.

Most clubs do have three, but that's about merchandise (which is why Premiership clubs have them and lower-level clubs don't). Far as I know, the only rule is that a club must have a contrasting kit in the event of a clash.

[Waleslax]

In the premiership every team HAS to have 3 kits.. Championship and below.. Only 2

Not sure where you got this info; I don't think Norwich has had a third kit so far in their return to the Prem.

Swansea only has two. Officially, ManU only has two (gingham red at home and white as their alt/clash)

[Kevin W.]

Yeah, there's no rule requiring Premier League teams to have three. Aston Villa, Norwich, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea and West Brom all have only two.

[ColeJ]

in my time as a Blackburn Rovers supporter (when they were in the Prem), they had 2 kits. A home and a clash. They also wore an outdated clash kit for a game for better contrast... Also, the keepers had 2 kits of their own, but I also saw the Keeper wearing the away kit for one game, also for better contrast.

[jakemon08]

That's not what I don't understand about soccer uniforms. I don't understand ANYTHING about soccer uniforms.

[Kevin W.]

That's not what I don't understand about soccer uniforms. I don't understand ANYTHING about soccer uniforms.

And that was relevant to the discussion how?

[Mingjai]

He pretty much nailed it. Home team gets to pick what they wear, then the visiting team will wear something that clashes. That will most likely be their primary as long as it's a different color than what the home team is wearing. The shirts obviously have to clash, sometimes same color shorts or socks will be allowed but that usually isn't the case. As far as goalkeepers go, most of the time they wear a completely different kit than the rest of the team (most of the time manufacturers will have these just templated out in different colors), but there are some rare occurrences where a goalkeeper will wear a team's third kit or something like that as long as it doesn't clash with everything else.

Yep. It often ends up working like this:

The home team wear their primary kit (or whatever they choose to wear).

The away team will mix and match from their existing kits (primary, clash, third) to ensure that the jersey, shorts, and socks all clash with the home team.

Goalkeeper does his own thing.

[guest23]

my question is what is the typical life span of an on field shirt? do players receive a new short every match in the international matches? what about the premier/champions/club seasons?

[Gothamite]

my question is what is the typical life span of an on field shirt? do players receive a new short every match in the international matches? what about the premier/champions/club seasons?

In international play (and higher-level club matches at least), players are issued a new shirt for every match. There is a tradition where players swap shirts with one of their opponents on the pitch after a match.