With their season about to kick off, USL Championship clubs in the United States are busy releasing their new kits for 2023. Here’s a look at some of the recent unveilings that hit our radar:
CHARLESTON BATTERY
As they celebrate their 30th anniversary this year, the Charleston Battery have reached into their history for kit inspiration in 2023. The primary kit uses the club’s traditional black and yellow vertical stripes, with an iron gate pattern embossed on the broad black stripes. The V-neck collar and raglan sleeves are solid black, while red trim appears around the sleeve cuffs and the broad black stripes.
The secondary kit is mainly white with a red stripe down the center and narrower black stripes on either side of the front of the shirt. The V-neck collar and sleeve cuffs are black with the iron gate pattern from the primary kit in white.
DETROIT CITY FC
Detroit City FC posted photos of their new primary and secondary kits, made by Adidas, on their Twitter accounts on Wednesday, March 8, and noted they’d be available for purchase in store and online starting March 11. The primary kit is the club’s signature shade of maroon, with tonal hoops across the front. Gold Adidas stripes run down the sides.
The secondary kit, meanwhile, is off-white with maroon trim on the collar and sleeve cuffs. The Adidas stripes on the shoulders are the same shade as the shirt. The Detroit City crest on the away kit is recolored with the same verdigris color as is found on the Spirit of Detroit statue in real life.
HARTFORD ATHLETIC
Hartford Athletic’s 2023 primary kit, made by Hummel, is inspired by designs found in the Connecticut state capitol building. A tonal pattern of dots spirals out from under the club crest and across the front and sleeves of the green jersey. This mirrors a pattern found inside the capitol’s gold leaf dome. The blue swoop at the bottom of the shirt represents the Connecticut river, and the tonal pattern inside the swoop mirrors the pattern of the wallpaper through the capitol building.
LOUISVILLE CITY FC
Louisville City FC put another spin on their traditional purple and black stripes with their 2023 Adidas primary kits. The black vertical stripes on the front of the purple jersey are made up of diagonal lines of varying widths. The Adidas shoulder stripes are black, while the crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs are solid purple.
The secondary kit has a white base, with purple and black diagonal streaks across the front of the shirt. The crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs are white, while the Adidas shoulder stripes are purple.
MEMPHIS 901 FC
Memphis 901 FC — named for its city’s area code — debuted their 2023 kits, made by Puma, on their Twitter account on Friday, March 10. The primary kits features a tonal pattern of hexagonal gradients on the front, anchored by solid black raglan sleeves. The crest is rendered in monochrome white.
The white secondary kit has a pattern of tonal chevrons working its way up the front of the shirt. The club crest appears in full colour on the left chest.
MIAMI FC
Miami FC pays tribute to the vibrancy of its home city with its 2023 primary kit, made by Macron. The front of the shirt features an orange diamond halftone gradient pattern on the upper part of the teal base, along with an orange henley collar and sleeve cuffs. The back of the shirt features a tonal map of Miami with neighborhood names handwritten over top.
OAKLAND ROOTS SC
The multicolor mosaic on Oakland Roots SC’s black primary and white secondary kits, made by Meyba, is the same pattern found on the bottom half of the club’s crest, but magnified to fill the sleeves. It’s “symbolic of the different walks of life in Oakland, one of the most diverse places in the world,” according to the club’s online store. “We wear the mosaic on the sleeve to remember our Purpose. The kit maintains a sleek look that gives a nod to the first ever Roots jerseys released in 2019.”
UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha is switching from Nike to Hummel for their 2023 kits. And they’ve come out of the gate strong with a predominantly black primary kit that features a tonal pattern of feathers across the front and sleeves. The crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs are neon yellow, as is the logo of their main sponsor, XCancer Corporation, a research network of community cancer centers.
The secondary kit cranks up the volume, with neon yellow taking center stage. A white stripe runs down the center of the shirt, flanked by two black stripes. The club crest sits in the middle of the chest. The crew neck collar is black, while the sleeve cuffs are white.
SAN ANTONIO FC
Defending USL champions San Antonio FC will have a new “Red-Out” alternate kit for 2023. The red kit has different areas filled with small white triangles in different shapes, directions and densities. The crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs are black, and stripes down the sleeves, starting near the shoulders and ending at the cuffs.
San Antonio’s home kit was released back in January. It’s mostly black with grey vertical stripes running down the front. The sleeves are solid black, and the V-neck collar is black at the front and grey in the back. Both of SAFC’s kits will feature a special championship patch on the left sleeve.
SAN DIEGO LOYAL
San Diego Loyal’s signature Torrey Green color returns to the club’s 2023 primary kits, made by Mexican sportswear company Charly. The kits feature tonal horizontal stripes across the front, cut through by a two-tone vertical stripe that runs down the left side under the crest. The V-neck collar is orange with a green insert, while the sleeve cuffs are solid orange.
The secondary kit is orange, with hoops across the front containing a tonal diamond pattern that’s a “nod to design qualities found in Mexican blankets,” according to the Loyal’s website. Bordering each hoop are the names of regional cities and neighborhoods of San Diego. The collar and sleeve cuffs are solid green.
FC TULSA
FC Tulsa unveiled their 2023 kits, made by Puma, on their social media accounts on Thursday, March 9. They refer to them as the “Route 66 Kit” and the “Interstate Kit,” and haven’t really distinguished which is the primary and which is the secondary.
The Route 66 kit is predominantly black, with two “patina green” stripes down the front that are “a nod to street lines and the road itself that built Tulsa.” Meanwhile, the Interstate kit is mostly white with patina green and gold horizontal stripes across the front that represent “the grid of the Interstate system.”
