The Premier League is the highest level of professional football in England, and it features 20 teams competing against each other over the course of a season. Each team in the league wears its own unique colours and designs on their shirts, shorts, and socks, which are often based on the team’s traditional colours and history. The designs on the kits can also vary from season to season, with teams often introducing new designs and colour schemes for new seasons for their fans to wear & enjoy.
2023 Premier League Kits
Football kits have become a fundamental part of the identity and culture of Premier League clubs. The history of football shirts in England’s top division dates back to the late 19th century, when teams wore long-sleeved shirts made of heavy cotton, often in plain colours with little or no design elements. It wasn’t until the 1930s that shirts began to feature distinctive designs, with teams incorporating crests, badges, and sponsors’ logos onto their kits.
Over the years, football shirts have become more technical and sophisticated, with advancements in fabric technology enabling manufacturers to create lightweight, breathable materials that offer greater comfort and flexibility for players. In the 1990s, a new era of football shirt design emerged, with clubs introducing more adventurous and colourful kits that reflected the changing trends in popular culture that coincided with the launch of the Premier League.
Premier League Shirt History
The Premier League has played a key role in shaping the evolution of football kits, with its global popularity leading to increased demand for unique and eye-catching designs. Many clubs have developed iconic shirts over the years, with some even becoming synonymous with the club’s identity.
Football shirts have also become a significant revenue stream for clubs, with manufacturers paying large sums of money to secure kit sponsorship deals. This has led to an increased emphasis on design and innovation, with manufacturers and clubs collaborating to create shirts that not only look great but also offer superior performance on the field.
Overall, the history of football shirts in the Premier League is a fascinating one, with designs evolving and changing over the years to reflect the cultural and technological trends of the time. Today, football kits are a fundamental part of the identity of Premier League clubs, with fans eagerly anticipating the release of new designs each season.
Shirt Sponsors
In 2023 the Premier League were looking at a possible ban on shirt sponsorship by gambling firms, a UK government white paper was due to set out proposals for new regulations on gambling advertising that would affect a number of Premier League clubs who have current sponsorship deals with gambling companies, including Aston Villa, Everton, and West Ham United.
This BBC article discusses the potential impact of the ban on both football clubs and the wider gambling industry. While some argue that it could lead to a reduction in problem gambling, others have raised concerns about the financial implications for clubs who rely on sponsorship deals to generate revenue. The BBC notes that similar bans have been introduced in other countries, including Italy and Spain, where gambling advertising is now prohibited on football shirts.
Promotion & Relegation
The league is fed by the Coca-Cola Championship with three teams being relegated down a division at the end of the season and three teams promoted up, the top two in the Championship and the winner of a playoff between those placed third to sixth.