Toronto FC pays tribute to Toronto soccer history with 2016 away kit

Canada’s first Major League Soccer team has been around for 10 seasons now, and Toronto FC have decided to mark the occasion by paying tribute to the city’s long history of soccer with their 2016 away kit.

Normally, TFC sticks to a mostly white or gray/granite/black, and as far as the shirt is concerned, they’ve stuck to tradition as the shirt is mostly white. What’s new is that they’ve added a bit of blue to the kit, with blue trim on the shirt and an option of blue shorts to go with the white shirt.

The addition of blue is both in tribute to the city’s flag and the history of soccer in Toronto, and it’s also an homage to past Toronto soccer teams — such as the old Toronto Blizzard, who were notable for their original run as a team in the old NASL in the 1970s and 1980s.

Toronto FC confirmed the homages in a brief statement on their website:

The dominant red strip across the chest serves as a statement. The club will always be first and foremost, red. New this season, is the introduction of a subtle blue strip which, not only represents the city’s flag, but also pays tribute to and celebrates the history of soccer in Toronto and the 40th Anniversary of its last professional soccer championship in 1976.

Additionally, TFC also revealed a new commemorative logo for the club’s tenth season, and I’ll say that it’s one of the more unique anniversary logos that I’ve seen a team come up with.

Just like in the away kit, the blue makes an appearance in the logo, so clearly Toronto FC is trying to connect with the roots of Toronto soccer as a whole in their 10th season. I’ve got no complaints about the kit either, which is about as solid as solid can get when it comes to clash kits. It’s definitely the best flag-related kit (cough, Columbus, cough) we’ve seen from an MLS club this season, that’s for sure. What do you all think, though?