2022-23 European Football Kit Preview: Ligue 1 (France)

France’s Ligue 1 gets going on Friday, August 5, when Olympique Lyonnais takes on newly promoted side AC Ajaccio. Other promoted teams this year include AJ Auxerre and Toulouse FC. Defending champs Paris Saint-Germain kick off their season on Saturday, August 6, against Clermont Foot 63.

NOTE: This preview includes all kit information available as of August 5, 2022.

AC Ajaccio are based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica, which lies in the Mediterranean Sea, southeast of mainland France and fairly close to Italy. Their proximity to the sea is reflected is their light blue away jersey, which features a heather pattern all over. This is Ajaccio’s first season in Ligue 1 since 2013-14.

Angers SCO are ready to “defend the diamond” in 2022-23. The home kit is predominantly black, with white sleeve cuffs and a triangular shape cutting off the white vertical stripes. The away kit is white with gold sleeve cuffs and a gold insert at the back of the collar. Black and gold streaks start at the club crest on the left chest and run across to the lower right side of the shirt.

AJ Auxerre actually debuted their home kits for 2022-23 before they were officially in Ligue 1 for the season. They first wore the kits in the first leg of their promotion playoff against AS Saint-Étienne in May. They would eventually defeat Saint-Étienne on penalties to earn their place in France’s top flight.

Stade Brestois 29 are nicknamed “Les Pirates,” and they lean into that with their 2022-23 kits, especially the black third kit. This jersey features a pair of crossed sabers underneath the club crest and a tonal pattern that resembles pennants flapping in the wind. All three kits also feature a silhouette of a pirate ship near the hem.

After surviving their first-ever season in Ligue 1 in 2021-22, Clermont Foot 63 switched kit suppliers for 2022-23, going with German manufacturer Uhlsport. The grey third jersey features a silhouette of landmarks in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, including the Place de Jaude, a statue of ancient Gaul king Vercingetorix — who was born near where the modern-day city of Clermont is located — and the Puy de Dôme.

The away for RC Lens pays tribute to the green spaces and the history of mining in its home region. The home kit takes inspiration from kits the club wore in the 1980s.

Lille OSC’s home kit for 2022-23 is a modernized version of what the club wore in 2011-12, when they won both the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France. The white away kit has an embossed pattern consisting of various club icons including fleurs-de-lys, pentgons, mastiffs, chevrons, the year the club was established (1944) and the club motto, “Nous sommes les Dogues” (“We are the Mastiffs”).

The pattern of grey, black and orange flecks on FC Lorient’s third kit represents the sand of the beaches around the city of Lorient. The Breton phrase “Etre an douar hag ar mor” (“Between the earth and the sea”) is printed on the back collar.

AS Monaco is all-in on their club slogan “RISE. RISK. REPEAT.” with their 2022-23 kits. The slogan is repeated in the red half of the front of their home kits, matching the angle of the diagonal red-white split. It’s also printed repeatedly at an angle and in grey in the black side panels of their away kit.

Montpellier HSC’s home kit features a pattern of orange diagonal lines of varying widths on a blue base. The same pattern can be found in different colours on Sporting Clube de Portugal’s 2022-23 away kit. Montpellier’s away and third kits follow the same Nike template; the away has a white body and red sleeves, while the third has a grey body and black sleeves.

FC Nantes draw on a local historical landmark for their 2022-23 home kits. The embossed floral pattern on the yellow jersey is inspired by the Passage Pommeraye, a small shopping center in Nantes that was built in the 1840s.

OGC Nice’s third kit is purple and orange, with a jagged line splitting the two colours down the right side of the shirt. Orange stripes run down the left side. It is a tribute to “the skies over the most beautiful city in the world,” according to the club, with purple representing the sunset and orange representing the morning sun.

Olympique Lyonnais debuted their 2022-23 home kit on June 9, when they also announced that striker Alexandre Lacazette was returning to the club. The kit is white with a red-and-blue vertical stripe down the centre; the stripe also includes a tonal gradient chevron pattern. The red away kit features a blue smoke pattern all over.

Olympique Marseille is going back to basics, at least for their home kit in 2022-23. The kit is solid white with blue trim around the sleeve cuffs and V-neck collar — a darker blue than they’ve used on their kits in previous years. Part of the coat of arms for the City of Marseille is printed inside the collar. The navy blue away kit has light blue sleeve cuffs and an embossed crosshatch pattern.

After a year without, the red and white vertical stripe returns to the front of Paris Saint-Germain’s home kit in 2022-23. The grey away kit with a black stripe down the front is inspired by PSG’s home stadium, the Parc des Princes.

The 2022-23 away kits for Stade de Reims pay homage to one of the club’s most famous victories: the 1953 Latin Cup, a tournament featuring the champions of Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. The new white away kit features gold shoulder panels with a pattern of white outlines of the Latin Cup trophy. A silhouette of the trophy is also printed inside the collar along with the date of the final (June 7, 1953)

The home kits for Stade Rennais feature a tonal print all over the front and sleeves of consisting of the ermines from the flag of Brittany, the region of France where the club is based. “1901” is printed in white on the back collar, denoting the year the club was founded.

RC Strasbourg Alsace unveiled their 2022-23 home kit back in May, and their away and third kits in late July. The third kit is predominantly black, but does feature a blue zigzag pattern across the front.

Toulouse FC, who won promotion to Ligue 1 in 2022-23 by finishing first in Ligue 2 last season, are breaking with tradition for their home kit. This is the first time since 1997-98 that Toulouse has gone with a mostly white shirt at home, opting for shirts that are mostly purple or feature purple and white vertical stripes in the years between.

ESTAC Troyes and supplier Le Coq Sportif are keeping things simple in 2022-23. Both the blue home and white away kits feature tonal vertical stripes woven into the fabric. The away kits feature a blue stripe around the left sleeve cuff.