New Kits for 2021-22 Season Pour in from Around Europe

With preseason training camps and friendlies around the corner, and new contracts with manufacturers taking effect, kit unveilings are in full effect for clubs in Europe’s top football leagues. Here are a few that were unveiled recently …

VfB STUTTGART – Away & GK

German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart unveiled their home kits for 2021-22 last week, and the away and goalkeeper kits from Jako very much follow the same motif. The away kit features a black chest stripe on a red jersey with an abstract pattern that almost resembles confetti in other colours found in the club crest (black, white, yellow). The sleeve cuffs are black, and the club motto “Furchtos und treu” (“Fearless and faithful”) is printed inside the collar.

Stuttgart’s goalkeeper kits very much follow the pattern of the home kit, but with variations on the coloring. One is mainly yellow with a black chest band and grey accents, while the other is a reddish-purple (the club calls it “blackberry”) with a black chest band and white accents.

CRYSTAL PALACE – Away

English Premier League side Crystal Palace has gone back to yellow for their 2021-22 away kit. Puma has used the same template it is using for other club and national team kits this year, this time in yellow with red and blue vertical stripes running under the club’s crest. There is blue trim on the collar, shoulders and sleeves, and an embossed tonal eagle from the club crest printed on the front of the shirt.

LAZIO – Home

Fans of Italian Serie A side Lazio were worried this past week when rumours began circulating that the club’s new home kits would be green instead of their traditional light blue. It turned out, though, that Lazio were just playing up the environmental aspect of the kits, as manufacturer Macron is using material made from recycled plastic. The actual shirts are light blue, with embossed vertical pinstripes down the front and white trim on the collar and sleeve cuffs.

CELTIC FC – Third

Scottish Premiership powerhouses Celtic FC released their away kits last month, and followed up with new third kits this week. They are mainly white, with green and pink vertical pinstripes down the front and sleeves. The adidas logo and club crest are centred on the chest, pushing the crest and the sponsor logo further down. The adidas shoulder stripes and V-neck collar are dark green.

RC LENS – Home & Away

A new manufacturer means a new spin on the home kit for French Ligue 1 side RC Lens. Having switched from Macron to Puma for the 2021-22 season, Lens have at least temporarily ditched the red and yellow stripes they’ve worn recently in favour of a mainly yellow shirt with red vertical pinstripes and a red sash. The V-neck and sleeve cuffs are black.

Stripes of even width do show up on Lens’s away kit, though, expect they’re in green and black. The raglan sleeves are solid black, while the collar and cuffs are green.

EINTRACHT FRANKFURT – Third

Meanwhile in Germany, just a week after unveiling their new home kit, Eintracht Frankfurt had more kit news, announcing they would bring back their Nike away kit from the 2020-21 season to be their third kit in 2021-22. The shirt is mainly white, with red zigzag stripes down each side, black sponsor and team logos, and a black polo collar with white and red trim.