Ranking the 2024 NWSL Kits
On the whole, the league did much better this year with kits. Although they stuck to a template for the the secondary kits, at least we got some color. Some of secondary kits work better than others (see below), but even if some of the primary kits were a little “try-hard” there are some really fine kits this season. However, it's good to know that Washington is still there to be the floor when it comes to rankings. I will rank the secondary kits, then the the primary kits. Let's dive in…
Secondary Kits
The one that doesn't work:
14. Washington Spirit
As far as I know, the Spirit don't have any history with the color yellow, so this gradient highlighter yellow to Post-it note yellow may be a nod to the jersey sponsor CVS as a place to purchase over-priced office supplies. Regardless, it's bloody awful and therfore true to Washington's form.
The ones that kinda work
13. Chicago Red Stars
I hate the badge and the blues are “greener” than they need to be. If they stuck to a single color I might have been on board.
12. North Carolina Courage
It's basically a color issue for me on this one. I am not crazy about either shade.
11. Bay FC
It isn't great by any means, but it beats a straight black kit. The inaugural season patch is cool and I think the badge works in orange.
10. Portland Thorns
It's their color choice, so you have to respect them for sticking to it. The badge seems like a downgrade.
9. Racing Louisville
It isn't especially bad or good, just rather anonymous. It looks like a warm-up. The gradient doesn't do it any harm, but doesn't add anything.
8. Orlando Pride
It really is quite similar to Racing’s secondary kit, but the colors just work better. The swoosh is nice on this one.
7. KC Current
This one comes close to working, but I feellike a teal to mint gradient would have been the way to go.
The ones that work
6. Houston Dash
This one is what the KC one should have been. It also gave Houston a chance to highlight the blue in their color scheme for once.
5. Angel City
It's fairly straightforward, but the different shades of light pink work together. The badge pops on this one.
4. NJ/NY Gotham
The color scheme is fine, but the star on top of the Lady Liberty part of the badge really works on an understated kit like this.
3. Utah Royals
Even based on a template, this is a fine jersey. I am partial to the blue/yellow kit combination, so this one really works for me.
2. Seattle Reign
This one works mainly on the heavy lifting of the returning Reign badge. It has a simple but classic feel. As always, the jersey sponsor boosts the Reign kits.
1. San Diego Wave
To be completely honest, this jersey benefits because the previous Wave kits were so bland, but it is very pink and thank goodness for that (finally).
Primary Kits
Kits that are still too boring
14. Washington Spirit
The red, white and blue color combination is the most successful combination in the history of the world, so the Spirit decided to forgo that once again and stick to black and white. This kit is just stupid and pointless.
13. Bay FC
Bay is already stating it's intent to overtake the Spirit for most boring kits every season. This one is only redeemed by the patch.
12. Angel City
You're fooling nobody Angel City. This kit is just a lazy reworking of the previous ones and the effect on this one is worse.
11. Portland Thorns
If those triangles are supposed to represent thorns, then it is a very lazy attempt. I'm not sure what to call that shade of red other than boring. The badge is a downgrade.
The “Try Hards”
10. Orlando Pride
It isn't boring, but that is the only thing going for it. Houston should sue because orange belongs to them. The sleeves make it worse.
9. Chicago Red Stars
If this one just calmed itself down a bit, it could have worked. Picking a single pattern and applying it uniformly would have been a hit. This one is a real lost opportunity.
8. North Carolina Courage
There is simultaneously too much and nothing going on with this kit. If you strip off the shapes it is dull, but the shapes distract. It will be interesting to see how this one reads on the pitch.
7. Houston Dash
The black accents work, but the pattern seems pointless. It does have a little bit of an 80s Houston Astros jersey feel, but I love that jersey and don't love this one so I am blaming the pattern.
Not quite there but nice effort
6. Racing Louisville
It's already been said, but this is a sweater vest kit. If the pattern would have been applied to the whole shirt it might have worked. At least it's lavender so that's a plus. The argyle is nice. DAMN THOSE STUPID SLEEVES!
5. NJ/NY Gotham
Gotham is sticking with the sash. Sometimes it works. This time it doesn't quite do it for me. It's still better than half the league.
4. Utah Royals
You definitely see what Utah is trying to do with this jersey, and it almost works. You have “Royal” in your name so why not use royal blue? That seems like a no-brainer to me, but I always prefer royal blue to navy. The mountain motif is nice, but a little blue in the mountains might have been nice.
The great kits
3. Seattle Reign
Even though I just said that I prefer royal blue to navy, it works with the gold on this kit. It's simple without being boring. Look at that gorgeous badge! I will say it once again, “Welcome back!”
2. KC Current
This is how to work a patern! It connects with previous kits and the pattern feels “currenty” without hitting you over the head with it. The teal accents work and the United Way logo seems right at home. In other years this is the best kit, hands down.
The Beautiful One
1. San Diego Wave
It's perfect. No notes. I get what it's saying. It speaks to me. The first classic kit in league history.
A Hater's Guide to NWSL 2023 Kits
UPDATED 3/24/2023 TO INCLUDE KANSAS CITY
As Super Hans says…
People will bend over backwards to accept mediocrity. This year's new kits are a case in point. None of these kits hold a candle to some of the excellent kits being produced by the USL W League. However, this post isn't for the fans who like the new kits. This post is for the vast majority of people who hate one, most, or all of the new 2023 NWSL kits.
Zach Allen-Kelly was nice enough (mean enough?) to add his comments. His additions will be labeled ZAK.
Kansas City
The shorts and socks are nice, but people don’t buy those, so the fans are basically left with another boring white kit. Minus the logo and the badge, it’s virtually identical to the new Courage kit. In a fair world, those two teams would be forced to play each other in these terrible jerseys both times and somehow both come away with zero points. In addition, the Current should be given a 20-point deduction in the table for trying to sell this as the “ice kit”. Their fans of course love it for some reason.
ZAK: I feel like we've forgotten that THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF KITS IS TO TELL THE TEAMS APART.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit: You don’t deserve nice things and luckily for the rest of us, you will probably never get them.
Louisville
Patterned kits are always divisive, so this really isn't what this fractured fanbase needs (not insignificant sections of fans continually give the front office a pass on just about anything and everything). Just do an all lavender jersey already! After picking an inaugural home kit that had flowers and bugs on it, Louisville decided to go with houndstooth next, so elitism abounds. My cursory search didn't really yield much in the way of houndstooth being used for sports jerseys (Secretariat aside), so this kit is potentially a first. However, everybody’s least favorite college football team Alabama likes to sell houndstooth merchandise to honor Paul Bryant. That man won a lot of football games, but also ran a camp where he withheld water from his players. Bryant and coaches like him are one of the reasons the coaching profession is still full of egotistical abusers. Alabama also tried to trademark houndstooth merchandise even though it was invented a few thousand years before the state of Alabama was. Louisville would like to mimic the winning Alabama has experienced and is already pretty adept at the whitewashing aspects of it, so why not pick a houndstooth kit?
Also, why is the badge mint? It's either a try-hard detail or a goofy decision. Regardless, it just seems odd to have a badge change color to NOT match the jersey. Still, it's a good kit for the NWSL, but anything that isn't either solid black or solid white would be. Congratulations, you tapped in a 6 inch putt.
The big question is will I buy it?
I'm the jerk who last year swore not to buy the new kit, but obviously I will. It’s slightly aristocratic in its design, so it will fit nicely into my rotation of Lacoste shirts and Arsenal gear. Then they also released this gem. I hate giving these people money, but I also have expensive season tickets so I will do it anyway because I'm the worst. I hate Soccer Holdings LLC but I hate myself even more evidently (not really, I really am more like Terrell Owens).
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit: You insufferably correct people’s pronunciation and ask them where they attended high school.
Portland
Nike is in the backyard of Portland, so this is a perfect chance to remind you that Nike is the perfect kit supplier for the NWSL as it too does the bare minimum to improve on its history of human rights abuses.
In a league that actually cared about having quality kits, this one would surely be in the either love it or hate it category. It's definitely unique and nobody can fault Portland for trying something different. In this league it's a top tier kit. But holy hell is it goofy. It's a way too easy target for Ed Hardy and tattoo jokes. It's definitely a little preoccupied with death and pain. There's the main quote, the Romeo and Juliette reference, the DAGGER, and the tiny drop of blood. It's trying hard to be hard. In reality, wearing it would definitely make you look like a less threatening soccer hooligan as opposed to more threatening one. Kudos for the dark shorts, but did they have to pick one of the ugliest colors possible.
ZAK: I will add that there is a pretty big difference between the “Authentic” shorts and the “replica” shorts.
Also, this kit is screaming for “THORN LIFE” across that empty patch on the stomach. Missed opportunity.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You have a tattoo that you never show in public and a fake nose ring.
Washington
The theme of these kit is "screw you". On original examination you might see this as the Spirit giving a middle finger to the league by saying the restrictions on kits are so bad, that we aren't even going to try. Upon closer examination, that middle finger is intended for a much broader audience. The audacious Thorns kit is priced at $110 in its replica form (a stupid $195 in authentic form) so imagine my surprise when I saw that both the black and white versions of the Spirit kits are priced at $120. That is basically begging any rational person not to buy it and extorting money from any irrationally fan who does. This kit is the most boring kit and doesn't even try to disguise it. I guess I would kind of respect that, except the team has never had good kits.
ZAK: BuT tHe CrEsT iS sHiNy.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You hate yourself so much you don't understand that you deserve better.
Gotham
It's another in a long line of black, navy, or dark purple kits for this league, but you have to say that 1) it's an upgrade over last year, 2) it's consistent with the brand, and 3) it's sort of interesting. On the other hand, would it have been too much to ask for a reverse of the blue and black colors? I get why they stuck with diagonal (but broken and fuzzy?) stripes, but vertical would have been better in my opinion. This would be a middle of the pack kit in a more colorful landscape, but in this one it rises to the top with a bar set very, very low. Not hateful enough...the people that live in the state where this team plays its home games (that nobody attends) are evidently not smart enough to pump their own gas (ditto for Oregon excluding the parts that want to become part of Super Idaho, or “Greater Idaho” as the movement would call it. It’s hard to imagine any addition to Idaho making it worse).
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
Somehow you're the "smart one" in your friend group, but your friends are really, really stupid.
Chicago
Sticking with the black base kits, this one from the Red Stars is another one in a worrying longer line of downgrades over what their past kits have been. There is no reason for this kit to be black. It's better than the stupid camouflage/L train kit, but being worse than that one would be nearly impossible. The Red Stars once had great light blue kits and their away kits actually make the white work (usually). Now, like everyone else they seem to be obsessed with black kits. Black kits are almost always boring. The grey background pattern won't read unless you're right on top of it. There's a reason it was launched with the player's wearing street clothes...the jersey by itself is dull as mud.
ZAK: STOP. DOING. BLACK. HOME. KITS. IF. ONE. OF. YOUR. TEAM. COLORS. ISN’T. BLACK.
Light blue, white, and red is such a dope color combo. USE IT!
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You see your "Goth" phase as the peak version of yourself but everyone else who knows you prefers literally any other variation.
Houston
Breaking up the monotony of the parade of black and white kits is Houston's retina scorching La Estrella kit. You have to hand it to the Dash. They are predictably defiant in their choice to stick with the orange jerseys. (Sidenote: I am one of those annoying people who likes to remind you that orange the color is named after the fruit. I really am an insufferable know-it-all sometimes.) Once again, the details won't read on TV, so this is a jersey that invites people into your personal space to get the full effect. I actually wouldn't mind this kit so much but there is absolutely no desire for this club to try to work in a secondary color. Once upon a time they did, and those kits were much cooler. The Dash's home kits, like the Red Stars' kits are on a downward spiral. I expect this to ultimately end in the team coming out matching Otto the Orange costumes in 2025.
ZAK: The Dash consistently do the bare minimum of “has team color, makes home kit team color” which in the NWSL is good enough to be near the top of the kit rankings.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You get dressed in the dark and almost never do your laundry.
San Diego
Ever the Robin to LA’s Batman in the SoCal consciousness, San Diego fumbles any opportunity to outdo its neighbors to the north. The club has an excellent color scheme, but steadfastly refuses to use it in their kits. San Diego’s kits are screaming to eternally be a mix between hot pink and teal, but seem stuck in navy and white. It’s a safe choice that will never offend. It’s passionless, which probably explains why major league sports never seem to work in San Diego for long periods of time. The weather is too nice and there is too much other stuff to do. This kit is a warm-up plain and simple. I will be leading the riot next year if the Wave’s kits aren’t 200% better.
ZAK: YOU HAD TWO TRIES AND YOU DID A WARMUP BOTH TIMES.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You go the to the best Italian restaurant in town and order “buttered noodles”.
North Carolina
Another in long line of “the details won’t read” kits, this jersey looks like a fingerprint with sweater pills. The badge would have been cool 30 years ago, but now just looks like it purposefully tries to hide the team's name. This kit doesn’t deserve more than 3 sentences written about it.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You go to Baskin-Robbins and order fat free vanilla frozen yogurt even though you have a full gallon of it at home.
Orlando
The Pride made a minor update to their away kit, so it merited inclusion along with the new home kit.
HOME
Meh.
Could be better, could be worse. It's purple at least. It goes against the current trend by having less black in it. However, it is infinitely worse than the last home kit. It will look solid purple on the field and on TV, so once again the details won't translate.
ZAK: Hey, you can tell what team they are! Passing grade.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit: You are slowly having all of the hope sucked out of your soul.
AWAY
Really more of a 1.5 update than a new kit, it merits inclusion because it continues the positive trend of moving to dark shorts and you can actually read the numbers this year. It still says “To the Moon” in the interior neckline, which for anyone over 45 probably brings to mind the threat of spousal abuse. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record (a dated reference that is now back in style), but the details are lost unless you are right next to it. The badge could add color but doesn’t. All in all, maybe Orlando is pulling Disney and making you pay twice for something that definitely isn’t’ worth it.
ZAK: So close to being really good if they had just made the design dark enough that you could see it from more than 6 inches away.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You join a gym every January thinking “this year will be different”, but you’re back to old habits in March.
Angel City
The home of blockbusters that nobody asked for once again brings you a kit that’s all sizzle and no steak. There’s a lot going on, and you can customize a patch:
However, that’s just to distract you from the fact that this kit is hot garbage. New Butchertown Rundown host Kaitlyn Whiteside says the kit reminds her of a water stain on her old Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young album. I think the outline of LA is there to remind people where they are since nobody that can afford to sit in the good seats at the games is actually from LA. Los Angeles is full of people trying their best to pretend to be real human beings, so a kit that is trying to pretend it’s anything other than a nothing kit wit unnecessary details seems appropriate.
ZAK: No one outside of your city knows what your city looks like in silhouette on a map, even if you’re LA. I’m a geography nerd and even I would not have noticed that’s what the design was until I was told. 2022 ACFC away was my favorite kit last season so this is a pretty big downgrade.
Patches are great though, love patches.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You can’t understand how the cryptocurrency market crashed even though you never really understood how it worked in the first place.
OL Reign
The OL Reign calls this kit the “Purpose” kit and the purpose must be to give you vertigo. The disorienting mix of patterns on this jersey is there to distract you from the fact that this is definitely the most pretentious club in the league. Too full of themselves to represent a single city, this club would rather represent a club that doesn't have the greatest history when it comes to doing right by its female athletes. Credit where credit is due for being somewhat adventurous, but is two shades of blue really that adventurous?
ZAK: Please just be the Seattle Reign again. Remember this? Everyone loved this.
Have you ever tried to explain the OL thing to a casual fan at the stadium? It’s a nightmare. Your team name should not require a 5 minute VOX explainer video.
The kit’s fine but it does kinda look like someone tried to take a picture of a computer monitor with their phone.
What this says about you if this is your favorite kit:
You are fully secure in your identify and that identity is “irritating to the point of ridiculousness.”
2022 NWSL Kit Rankings
I had the idea to do kit ranking piece last year, but the idea occurred to me late in the season, so I sat on that idea for several months and decided to wait until the 2022 kits were released. I waited….and waited…and waited…and finally last week the Wave abandoned all hope toward having any creativity and released their away kit. This was the last kit to be released for the season, so I could now start the process of ranking the kits.
Methodology
Feel free to skip this part if you are uninterested.
I created a survey to send out to content creators who had assisted me in the past. I attempted to get representation across all teams, and most teams were represented. After reviewing the results, I don’t think any additional data would have swayed the choices too much. The respondents generally didn’t tend to overrate the kits for their favorite team (minus one obvious exception), so I felt like I got a decent sample. The sample is nowhere near statistically validity, but that wasn’t the point anyway.
After receiving the responses, I analyzed the ranking twice. First, I removed the respondents’ rankings for their favorite teams’ kits. Let’s call this the “scrubbed version”. This mostly impacted Racing, as there were 3 respondents with Racing listed as their favorite team. Everyone else tended to rank their kits in the same general vicinity as everyone else, except for a couple of respondents who were overly negative toward their teams’ kits. Second, I looked at the raw rankings with no data scrubbing. Racing’s dark kit was the biggest beneficiary when I did this and moved up 4 spots in the rankings. The biggest loser was Gotham whose home kit fell 4 spots and away kit fell three spots. This was due to respondent Gary Gibson (host of Soccer over Gotham) who I guess we can safely say isn’t a fan of the Gotham kits. I performed one more test of the data to check the impact of combining the rankings of the 3 Racing fans together for Racing’s home and away kit to see the impact. This only moved the home kit’s ranking up by one spot, so I decided to stick with my gut and use the scrubbed version of the rankings
THE SURVEY RESPONDENTS
Here is a quick rundown of the people who were kind enough to help with the survey:
Becky Morgan, Butchertown Rundown, Beautiful Game Network (Racing)
Zach Allen-Kelly, Vamos Morados Podcast, Soccer City Radio (Racing)
Melina Gaspar, Stumptown Footy (Thorns)
Laura M. Gomez, The Striker Texas (Dash)
Susie Rantz, Sounder at Heart (OL Reign)
Brianna LeBlanc, Backline Soccer, Purple Pulse Podcast (Pride)
Phuoc Nguyen, (Thorns)
Ryan Keefer, Courage Country (Courage)
Gary Gibson, Soccer Over Gotham (Gotham)
Bryant and Me Podcast (Red Stars)
Michael Shaw, Fleur-de-lis-FC (Racing)
THE RANKINGS
I grouped the rankings a bit to make the post easier to read. The countdown of the rankings runs in reverse order.
The Anti-Champions
24. Spirit Light
23. Spirit Dark
I think the Bryant and Me podcast comments summed it up best, “The team in the kit is much better than the kit itself.” Nobody ranked the white kit in the top half and everyone else ranked the light kit in the bottom 5. It is a white t-shirt. The dark kit only fared slightly better with one rating in the top half. It is a boring kit in a boring color. I don’t particularly care for navy blue as I think it is vastly overdone in American sports.
Design Participation award
22. Portland Light
I like the use of the alternate badge, but this kit has literally nothing else going for it. A couple of the respondents liked its “clean’ or “minimalist” fee, but the consensus was that it was almost at boring as the two other basic white kits. The fact that is scored one spot below the Wave light kit proves that there is great disdain for this shirt.
21. Wave Light
20. Wave Dark
There is suspicion that the San Diego Wave club wasn’t really prepared to enter the league in 2022 and would have preferred a 2023 entry, but their performance on the field so far has exceeded expectations. Their kits however have been tremendous disappointment. The fact that it took the club so long to release the kits and that only 100 of each the home and away kits were initially produced for fans lends credence to the assumption that the club wasn’t quite ready to take the field this year. On the light kit Bekki Morgan commented, “give us something, anything at all to make us feel like you at least tried.” The respondents were not much kinder to the dark kit. Susie Rantz had the kindest words: “While this design is really simple, I really like the colors on the back for the name and player's number. It really pops and incorporates the fun colors in the Wave's crest.” I do like the pink numbers but will expect more pink integrated into the kits next season.
19. Reign Dark
When I get to the Reign’s light jersey in the rankings in the top 10, I will highlight the touches I like on that jersey. The light jersey serves a clear purpose. I am unsure of what the Reign are trying to communicate on this one, but the “Fortune favors the bold” quote in French doesn’t translate to the jersey. Most of the responses here were in the “meh” category. Phouc thought it was a step up from the previous dark kits, but that isn’t saying much.
Low “Lights”
We are now entering the more interesting part of the rankings where there stops being so much consensus. We also have a run of 5 “light” jerseys in a row. This isn’t terribly surprising due to the leagues rule on “light” kits having to be predominately white. I really hope the league starts to relax this rule. No other football league in the world (that I know about at least) has such an asinine rule. All across Europe I would say the majority of matches are conducted without either team donning a white kit. It’s a bizarre rule that is probably rooted in some weird American sports tradition. The 3 “major” men’s sports also adhere to this stupid rule to some degree. Anyway, you have to work within the limits you are given (unless you are special, then you will be allowed to break the rules if you pay a fine) so the next few kits at least attempted something beyond a white t-shirt
18. Courage Light
I personally ranked this kit 2nd among light kits and 5th overall. I believe that this shirt clearly conveys “mountains” and I like the four different colors. For some reason I also like how the logo works with this jersey and the bit of navy around the collar. When taken together with its dark partner, I would say that the Courage kits are my favorite set. This was an opinion clearly shared by nobody else. It suffered from a couple of bottom 3 rankings which I can’t quite fathom, but I asked for other peoples opinions, so I will live with them. Zach agreed with me and said: “I think both of the kits from the Courage this year are really solid. The mountain design at the bottom is a nice unique touch that keeps it from being another boring plain white away kit and also a nod to local geography.”
17. Red Stars Light
This kit definitely suffers from downgrade disorder:
Bekki-It's fine. The neighborhood kit was one of the all-time best ever so this feels like a downgrade even if it's ok. I like the stars on the shoulders at least.
Zach-I'll be honest, it's really hard not to hold it against this kit that it's following up one of the best away kits in the league last year. Up there with Portland home for biggest downgrade.
Bryant and Me-There’s been a lot of people hating on the Red Stars light kit. It’s not because it’s necessarily a bad it because it’ not. It’s just far and away a downgrade from the community kit with the horizontal stripe and stars.
To be honest, I still like this one and I think that Chicago’s white kits are typically better. The stars on the shoulders won both praise and ridicule.
16. Gotham Light
It probably says something that you can’t even buy this jersey from Gotham. The truth and the consensus is that is identical to the dark jersey with only the main color swapped (Laura: “Meh, its like the colors were just switched from the dark one.” If you like sashes, you might rank it a little higher. Bryant and Me commented that the sash disappears on the light jersey, which you can see above.
15. Dash Light
Gary-I imagine sweating in the Jersey brings out the stars.
Laura-I have to give them kudos for trying. Has. It has nice touches like the sleeves and the stars, but it's a step away from being perfect.
Evidently the city of Houston is only ever allowed to have one great jersey in its history:
And since that jersey has so much orange, the Dynamo and Dash are held hostage by its greatness. Orange is a polarizing color, so the Dash might have been better served ditching the orange altogether here. I don’t think the stars really work, and why is there more than one? Isn’t Texas the Lone Star state?
14. Pride Light
This jersey is probably the biggest casualty to the league rules. Given anything other than a white background and this jersey was sure to rocket up the list. I could write 500 words about how “To The Moon” is a terrible thing to have on a jersey, but I will let that slide.
Ryan-Looks great in promos, but the silver numbers on the white jersey are completely unreadable in-game. A dark outline or shadow on the numbers would elevate this way up the list. (Many other complained about the illegibilty of the numbers.)
The majority of the other complaints are that it just doesn’t translate from a distance. That makes it a bad stadium/TV experience for fans. It’s probably terrific 5 feet in front of your face, but when are the players that close to the fans?
Mid-Tier Dark Kits
13. Dash Dark
This is a kit with only one design element. It is orange. That element is good enough to make it to the middle of the pack which should tell you something about the kits below it. I tend to agree with Melina when she said, “I absolutely love orange in kits but this one is so boring! Such a waste for such an amazing color. Shame, shame.” Other comments basically applauded it for being not red, white, or blue. Personally, I had it at 20. The hexagons don’t read in the picture, so why would they ready anywhere else. It is ranked way too high in my opinion.
12. Thorns Dark
This is definitely another “downgrade disorder” kit. I kind of like the “thorny” stripes.
Melina: Black and red are always a good choice. Also, the crest is pretty cool but after the 2018/19 and 2020/21 kits, this is disappointing.
Everyone else tended to agree that the thorns didn’t fully work and could be misread as barbed wire.
11. Red Stars Dark
The fact that this atrocity ranks above even a downgraded light kit is mind-boggling to me.
There was a hilarious disparity in the comments.
Phuoc-I love this! It feels like a comic they put on a kit. Chicago should be proud as they continually put out amazing designs.
Laura-I truly do enjoy it when parts of the city are included in the jersey as the Red Stars did. Love the colors that pop in the sleeves, love it!
Bri-I wanna like it, but it looks like my sleeves have a bacterial disease.
Bekki-Words cannot describe how much I hate this jersey. It looks like a pajama top for a 4-year-old. I get the train is a city-specific ode but it's too cartoony. And what's with the weird hyped up camo arms? Too much is happening and none of it ties together.
Zach-The camo doesn't relate to the theme at all, the train at the bottom is so subtle I went literally a half a season without noticing it was there. One of the lamer entries in the black home kit trend.
Bryant and Me-A supporter-designed hit is always fun, but there’s just too much happening here. The train screams Chicago but not sure what’s on the sleeves.
Bryant and Me then invited you to @ then on Twitter, so fire away @BryantandMe.
10, Current Dark
Long-time NWSL fans tell me that they are sick of red kits due to the propensity of them in seasons past. Red is a difficult color to get right in my opinion. Too dark looks maroon, and this shade of the Current jersey leans toward orange just a bit much for my tastes. (Laura also said, “I like the orange”.) Teal is always a welcome color and in a rosier future I am sure we will get a teal themed kit. Most of the other comments were complimentary but agreed with me in that a teal jersey is the way to go.
9. Courage Dark
Gradient jerseys can be really polarizing. In fact, one respondent ranked this kit dead last. It wasn’t me, because I had this one my top 5. Other than the next jersey on the list, this one has the highest standard deviation in its ranking.
Zach-One of the better Home kits in the league. Simple design but pulled off really well. The pattern and color of the dots up top gives it an almost pearlescent look from far away that I really dig.
Bekki-If you're going to do simple, using a gradient pattern is a smart way to stand out. Of the more solid jerseys, I think it's one of the best.
Melina-I will always be a fan of jerseys with transition of colors like this one.
Laura-Not my cup of tea, the color looks mushed together and not in a good way.
Phuoc-Their jerseys every year just underwhelm.
The Polarizer
8. Racing Dark
Even after removing Bekki’s, Zach’s and my bias, this kit still had 3 top four rankings from the other 8 respondents. You can read my prelude to get a better sense of why I think this one will stand the test of time. This kit had the highest standard deviation in rankings. I will give you a taste of the comments:
Laura-Loving the vibes and that Racing went out of the normal and added some spice to the jersey.
Brianna-A nice Hawaiian vibe, but the sponsor logo is HIDEOUS.
*Redacted-It still looks to me like a pattern on a grandmother's couch to me. The pattern should have been broken up with solid dark rectangles around the number and name on the back.
Bekki-I was not in love with it when I first saw it but after seeing players on the pitch, it's so bold and obvious it's Racing playing. It's become so iconic of the team itself and I've grown to love it. The symbolism is great, the boldness is great. I love how unique and divisive it is.
Zach-I mean, hands down my favorite kit in the league even removing home team bias. It manages to pull of the rare feat of being full of nice, subtle touches that you can really appreciate in person up close while still looking good from far away and on TV.
I still think it would be better on a different color base. I had it at 2.
My Favorite Kit
7. Reign Light
The simple fact that a kit is white doesn’t disqualify it from being great. Lyon have had come wonderful kits in this color scheme over the year. I am surely biased by the fact I think the French teams have some great kits and that this kit has a familiarity to it. I love the idea of putting the names of past players on the kit in an unobtrusive way. I like the gold swoosh. I love that the sleeve caps are different colors. The sponsor logo is nicely integrated too and doesn’t give me PTSD like Racing’s “GE Appliances” logo (I worked for a supplier of GE for a brief period). Most everyone else likes it too(especially the names), just not as much as I do.
The “Not Quite” Kit
6. Racing Light
For the pedants…I probably shouldn’t interchange kit, jersey and shirt. I apologize for that. A true “kit” includes a shirt, shorts, socks, boots, and shin pads. The first three of those are dictated by the team and boots and shin pads are left to the players whims. Taken as a jersey/shirt alone, this ranking is probably too high. It is probably about right when taking into account what have to be the best shorts in the league. I didn’t instruct the respondents on how to judge the word “kit”, and if this was scientific, I would have included instructions and made sure all of the photos would have included shorts (you are seeing the photos that I included in the survey). That left it up to the respondent whether to consider the shorts. It probably only really mattered on this kit anyway.
While the mint on the jersey doesn’t really come across on TV, the shorts do. For that reason, I ranked this kit personally at 9. Others liked it much better.
Laura-I know that there are limitations with the white jersey and Racing tried to deliver the idea of the mint color. It feels like it's almost there, but it was held back due to NWSL norms.
Susie-Like many, I was hoping Racing Louisville would go full mint. Alas, the league's requirements make that difficult. This is another jersey that I didn't like when I saw the photo. Having a chance to see these on TV and in person, and paired with the mint shorts, I really dig this look. I just really wish the socks were mint too.
Zach-It's fine. I think similar to the ACFC dark kit it's a solid design that is just a little too subtle from far away on TV. Very glad to see some mint green this year and the Lily at the bottom left is a nice touch. Not bad but definitely some room for improvement in the future.
Bekki-I'm glad Racing stuck with the Racing specific pattern. It would get much lower marks for me if it was just a fleur-de-lis symbol or something. I wish there was more mint, but I'm glad there are flourishes like the lily and the purple swoosh to provide more contrast.
The Overrated 4
5. Current Light
I think I like this kit less each time I look at it. I just don’t think there is anything that interesting about it. I had it ranked at 7, but I can’t for the life of me remember why. Bekki and Zach really liked it for some reason. Only 2 respondents had it ranked in the top 5, but nobody hated it, so it beat out less polarizing kits.
4. Gotham Dark
This one was another head-scratcher for me. I had it firmly in the middle of the pack at 11, but 5 respondents had it in their top 5. Let’s hear from them.
Laura-I love these colors together so maybe that's why I already have some liking for this jersey. It's a classic sash jersey.
Susie-I know this is a really simple design, but I think a sash can work well with the right colors. Gotham accomplished that with their dark kits. The light blue on top of the black pops.
Ryan-Great, classic looking jersey.
Bekki-It's simple and classic. I'm not as wild about it as some are, but I like it and appreciate how clean it is.
Bryant and Me-Goodness, a sash on a kit is a thing of beauty when done correctly. Gotham FC did this correctly. The light sash on the black kit is perfect, and like the dark Dash kit, should not change.
To be completely transparent, I hate black jerseys in general, but the genral public seems to like them which leads us to…
3. ACFC Dark
2. ACFC Light
In old-time Hollywood style, Angel City has at least embraced the villain role and put themselves in black. Personally, I don’t think either of these jerseys is great. I simply don’t like black as a jersey color. In some lights, the dark kit for Angel City almost looks midnight blue, which is marginally better, I guess. Let’s hear from the people who actually like these jerseys.
Dark:
Bryant and Me-The ACFC dark kit is beautiful and the best kit in the league. Although wearing black and playing in the summer in LA might be the worst move LA had made. (Editor’s note: this is true for thin black material like jerseys. Thick black clothing actually keeps heat away from the skin.)
Phuoc-Simple and Elegant at the same time.
Ryan-Nice, subtle pattern.
Bekki-I like it. I think going with the art nouveau pattern was a great choice, but I think the pattern is too hard to see on the pitch. That said, it's very wearable.
Susie-I really like the intention behind this jersey design. The art deco is a perfect style for Los Angeles, and it is done in a subtle way that looks great on TV and in person. My only complaint is that I wish the club leaned into the "sol rosa" color more to contrast with the black.
The light jersey has been rumored to have elicited a fine from the NWSL. It is probably because of the amount of pink and black on the kit. Personally, I think the palm leaves look like feathers, but I guess that’s just me.
Light:
Laura-I am in love! It has that Cali feel. I legit feel like I could wear this to the beach somewhere maybe even surf in it.
Susie-I was surprised, honestly, that this rose to the top for me. That probably wouldn't have been the case if I hadn't seen the team play in these jerseys both in person and on TV. I don't naturally gravitate toward white jerseys, but this one incorporated a lot of color and leaned into the "sol rosa" color. They look even better in a match environment. Like Angel City's dark jerseys, I like that this feels like an LA jersey.
Zach-Hands down best away kit in the league.
Bryant and Me: The ACFC light kit is what happens when an expansion team has a lot of time to get their stuff together. The palm leaves make their light kit both a dark and light kit (Editor’s Note: maybe that’s the reason for the rumored fine) and the pink pops.
The Clear Winner
Pride Dark
I was really pleased that there was a clear winner. Not a single person had this kit lower than number four. It is not a new kit for this year, but it is the winner of these rankings. It might benefit from being somewhat familiar from last year, but it still is a very, very good kit. My only complaint is that I don’t think it is a great kit, and maybe there just aren’t any great kits in this league due to the restrictions. Within the restrictions, it’s an absolute winner. Let’s hear from the respondents:
Laura-My second fav, I love how the colors blend into each other without dividing the jersey. Plus, I love the touches of "stars" on the jersey and my fav color is purple!
Gary-Orlando has fire kits.
Brianna-QUE MAGNIFIQUE!
Phuoc-Love this!!!!! One of my favorites by far.
Ryan-Great jersey, but the black's gotta be hot in the Orlando Sun. They've totally embraced the space theme on both kits, and it works.
Melina-Not a fan at first but it really grew on me. I love the combination of purple and black.
Bekki-Love it. There are things to nitpick, but I think it's frankly awesome. I love the stars on the top and the pattern as it drops into purple. A+
Zach-Just a really good overall design. Checks off all the boxes, unique, incorporates local themes, reads well from distance. One of the better of the recent trend of black home kits.
Conclusion
I really had a good time doing this, but it was quite a bit of work. I hope that it keeps the kit discussion going and that one day the restrictions will be removed from the NWSL kit rules. I am open to doing this again next year, but I guess that will depend on the response. Again, I would like to thank all of those who participated and thank you for reading this rather long piece.
Prelude: A Story of Fandom in 3 kits
As I sit at my computer writing this, I confess myself disappointed. When I had the idea of doing an NWSL kit ranking piece, I imagined every person I asked to contribute being as excited about the opportunity to rank this year’s kits as I was. In truth, maybe people don’t care as much about kits in this league as they do in other football leagues around the world. In retrospect, there were signs that I should have read. The NWSL kits will always take a back seat to the one kit that matters most to some fans…the USWNT kit. In fact, I venture to say that a good percentage of this league’s fans aren’t really even fans of a team, but rather a player or a group of players. In their minds, maybe the only kit that matters to them is the national team one and the club kit is seen as some kind of foreign, temporary uniform only to be worn for a brief period in a player’s career and just as likely to be one kit in a set of many. I get that. Additionally, there may not be a truly great kit in the set of current NWSL jerseys. Racing’s home kit is polarizing and suffers (but maybe ultimately benefits) from what I will explain later as the “Bruised Banana Effect”. The restrictions put on the kits by the league doesn’t do anyone any favors, but I still thought maybe people cared more than they actually do.
I can’t change anyone’s perspective, so I can only give you mine. I will pick 3 kits (from Arsenal of course) that explain my love of kit culture and how the love of kits enhances my enjoyment of the beautiful game.
ARSENAL HOME 12-14
When Arsenal announced this kit in the summer of 2012, they were in the midst of an 8-year trophy drought and shortly after releasing the kit, sold their captain and talisman Robin Van Persie to the hated Manchester United. I was in year 2 of what I will call my full Arsenal fandom. I followed them as best as I could through the 2000’s but that was limited to reading results online and catching a rare match on TV. By the time 2011 rolled around, the Premier League was easily assessable through ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel, and I was able to see just about every match. I won’t rehash too much here, but the 2012-2013 Arsenal squad may still be one of my favorites and in the calendar year of 2013, they won more points than any other Premier League team (which ultimately nets you zilch but is a fun factoid). I hold this jersey dear, because it was the first jersey I ever ordered directly from Arsenal. I still have the beautiful presentation box it arrived in.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, and Mikel Arteta
However, the jersey I ordered no longer fits (weight loss not weight gain), so I had to subsequently find a smaller size on eBay. Regardless, this jersey is special to me because I always think of this when I put it on.
Aaron Ramsey’s 2013-14 season is one of my fondest sporting memories. He started the year as question mark in the midfield and ended the season as Arsenal’s Player of the Year. My black cat is named Ramsey after him. I’m never not happy when I watch this video.
Racing corollary: I’m not saying it will be the same journey, but I feel the way I do watching Sav DeMelo develop as I once felt watching Aaron Ramsey recovery from a horrific leg injury that sidelined him for a year and turn into one of Arsenal’s best players in the span of 15 or so months.
ARSENAL 2003-2004
I actually don’t remember what exactly prompted me to buy this kit. I was a casual Arsenal fan during their Invincibles season, and I can’t even be sure that I bought it in 2003 or 2004. Regardless, this kit is special because Arsenal won the Premier League in the 2003/04 season with a record of W26-D12-L0. There have been teams that have won the league with more points and more victories, but their trophy isn’t gold.
I am probably the rare Arsenal fan that acknowledges that while their undefeated season is unique, it doesn’t mean that they were the best Premier League side ever. However, that kit represents invincibility and whenever I am feeling particularly frustrated by Arsenal’s current form, I tend to wear that one to remember better times.
Racing corollary: Other teams might win the Women’s Cup, but they can never win the first one, nor will theirs be cast in bronze. When I think of last year’s light kit, I think of that trophy.
THE BRUISED BANANA EFFECT
I am hoping for a few last-minute surveys to be completed, so this could change but as things stand Racing’s Home kit is just out of the top 5 from a ranking perspective. It truly is a polarizing kit. Three surveys have it ranked as the best kit in the league and 2 have it either last or next-to-last. I would argue that even if you hate the kit, it is of more value to at least attempt something bold, but I opened up the survey to get differing opinions so I will live with it.
When Arsenal released its 1991 Away kit, much of the footballing world ridiculed it. It was definitely a product of the times.
It was widely beloved and widely derided, and honestly Arsenal had as many successes as they did failures in this jersey (they won two trophies in 93 while this was still their away kit but won both of those in their home kits.) The Chervon pattern actually ended up being used as a template by Adidas called “Italia”, but it will forever be associated with Arsenal.
Racing Corollary: This one should be crystal clear, but it’s important to note why. The Bruised Banana kit is now almost universally beloved by Arsenal fans. The originals are hard to come by on eBay and for years went for around $400 a piece. The one question that Arsenal fans wanted to know when the team signed a kit deal with Adidas in 2019 was: would the Bruised Banana be coming back? It did in a slightly more muted form on the pitch.
Just about the entire footballing world embraced this newer version of the Bruised Banana kit, but frankly we didn’t care. By this point Arsenal fans knew what the Bruised Banana meant. It was our secret code. We always knew it was cool. If you finally came around to its coolness, that’s OK, but we don’t sweat it. Arsenal markets an entire Bruised Banana collection now highlighting the original chevron pattern. Racing has the same thing with the butterfly and lily or “Ali Kit”. If you like it, that’s cool. You have taste. If not, we may just have to wait 30 years, but the rest of the world will eventually come around.
Stay tuned for the 2022 NWSL Kit Rankings coming soon…