Football kits have nothing to do with fashion. They’re merely there to indicate your side on the pitch. As an easy identifier, if you will. While the uniformity of the eleven and the colors of the club imposes a sense of camaraderie, there have been times when fans have been put in precarious situations. In the outside world, that is, thanks to these jerseys.
In this piece, we’re going to take a look at what we think could be the ten ugliest kits in the history of football. There’s also a bonus for you waiting right at the end.
Honorable mention Norwich City – Did a bird do the poo poo?
This Norwich shirt that was worn between 1992 and ’94 clearly looks like it has been inspired by the drawing of a two-year-old child. To add to the misery of the players and the fans alike, this shirt has got a collar too.
10. Nigerian National Team 1994 – Random stuff is Ok
On a football shirt. The Nigerian team that played in 1994 was sold this idea before they were given an opportunity to view the shirt. We were told that some Inception level skills were needed to convince them. The fans only questioned as to why they got matching shorts.
9. Nexaca – Fueled by Coke
We think the designer who was responsible for this shirt was actually an employee of Coca-Cola, and he was pretty high on Coke at the time. Either that or he was expecting the soft drink brand to give him a massive pay rise. It was Nexaca’s 3rd kit from 2000.
8. Recreativo Huelva – Recreational dots
Recreativo Huelva, who now plays in the third division of Spanish football, was handed the polka dot shirt by Hummel once. It resulted in the double-elimination of both the club and the sponsors from the scene. At least Recreativo has the opportunity to get promoted, but will the Danish company get another chance?
7. Club León – Life is an illusion
Club León’s kit sponsors had just one direction that they were going to go with the kit. All they wanted to do was create chaos on the field. They wanted León’s opponents to take a look at them and be sent into a trance-like state. Sadly, the bosses wanted to try it out with just the 3rd kit. What a shame!
6. Napoli – Howdy Cowboy?
Macron, the Italian sportswear manufacturers, for a good hour thought that they were in high fashion. They went avant-garde with Napoli’s away kit in 2014-15. The all-denim look was a bad idea, and the club ended its relationship with the company in the next season.
5. Borussia Dortmund – And it makes you wonder!
Borussia Dortmund had to go through an initiation ceremony before they could be accepted into the big league. As a part of their initiation, they had to come up with a kit design that was equally sorry and amusing at the same time. They managed to pull it off with their 2006-07 outfit.
4. SC Bastia – Camo is flagged
Kappa pulled a rabbit out of the hat with SC Bastia’s third kit for the 2013-14 season. The availability of time and resources in excess made them do it. They could have also had a moment of clarity where they were inspired to not care about third kits as much.
3. Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao needs contact with the outside world. All that close-mindedness isn’t doing them any favors. They probably wanted a designer from Basque Country to do the designing of their 2004-05 kit. The woman (or man) had envisioned shapeshifting single-celled creatures in a dream and felt inspired to use them.
2. CD Palencia Balompié – This team is a secret cult
CD Palencia Balompié from Spain has just revealed the truth about themselves. They’re more than a club. The Palencia-based team is actually a society that is involved in rituals that are archaic. It’s best if we leave it at that.
1. Scunthorpe United
Just like we promised, here’s the surprise for you. Inspired by Norwich’s ugly design (check above), Scunthorpe United wanted to one-up them. Here’s their beautiful creation. At least it didn’t have a collar.
** All images in this post are from Twitter/External sources. We do not own these pictures **
