Third Kits Debut as Champions League, Europa League Get Underway

The start of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League and Europa Leagues campaigns has resulted in a spate of new kits being released by participating clubs across Europe recently. Plus there have been a few more from teams who hitting parts of their schedules where there are kit clashes. Here’s a look at some of the new kits that have hit the pitch in the past week or so …

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN – Third

French Ligue 1 powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain debuted their new third kit, made by Nike, in a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Bearing the Jumpman logo on the right chest, the kit is black with a tonal elephant print that has been “intimately connected with the Jumpman throughout the world since its appearance in 1988,” according to the club. PSG wore the kits with a bold orange name/number font in the Champions League, but it will have a beige font with an orange drop shadow in Ligue 1 play.

*Left: Authentic version of the PSG third kit with the Champions League name/number font. Right: Replica version with the Ligue 1 name/number font. (Photos courtesy **Paris Saint-Germain**)*

INTER MILAN – Third

Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan debuted their new Nike orange third kit in a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad in the Champions League. It “unites a more urban character with tradition,” according to Inter, as they’ve used orange as a change kit color many times throughout their history. The logos on the front of the shirt are black, while the side panels, sleeve cuffs and collar all feature panels in light and dark grey.

*Courtesy **Todo Sobre Camisetas** / Facebook*

CHELSEA FC – Third

After unveiling their royal blue home kit and a dark blue away kit, Premier League side Chelsea FC complete the blue trifecta with a light blue third kit for 2023-24, made by Nike. The club is calling the kit color “Eton Blue” (despite the green tinges it has in certain lighting) as a nod to the color the very first Chelsea players wore from 1905 to 1907. The shirt is anchored with black trim on the collar, sleeve cuffs and side panels. The Chelsea crest is also rendered in monochromatic black.

BAYERN MUNICH – Oktoberfest Kit

11-time Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have once again released a special kit honoring Oktoberfest, a tradition that goes back to at least 2013. This time, the club and manufacturer Adidas have taken the club’s third shirt for this year — which features a pattern of sketches of Bavarian mountain flowers — and recolored it in light green. The logos and retro club crest on the front are white, while the Adidas stripes on the shoulders are a slightly darker shade of green.

SSC NAPOLI – Champions League Away

Defending Italian Serie A champions SSC Napoli are marking the new Champions League season with a special away kit for the competition, made by EA7. Like their regular away kit, the Champions League shirt has a white base with navy blue piping down the seams of the raglan sleeves. Unlike the regular away kit, though, the CL kit doesn’t have the tonal print of Mt. Vesuvius, and the collar and sleeve cuffs have been changed to light blue with the colors of the Italian flag as trim.

*Left: SSC Napoli’s Champions League away kit. Right: The club’s Serie A away kit. (Photos courtesy **SSC Napoli**)*

1. FC UNION BERLIN – Champions League

German Bundesliga side marked their first-ever appearance in the Champions League by debuted a new kit in their match against Real Madrid on Tuesday, September 19. The kit is predominantly black with a pattern of gold hexagonal tiles and narrow lines on the front. The V-neck collar and Adidas shoulder stripes are also gold, and the club crest is rendered in monochromatic gold.

LUTON TOWN – Third

Premier League new boys Luton Town tip their hat to their home stadium, Kenilworth Road, with their 2023-24 third kit made by Umbro. The navy and pink color scheme mirrors what the club wore in its early days, and the pattern represents a view of the stadium from above.

GENOA CFC – Third

Genoa CFC celebrate their 130th anniversary — making them Italy’s oldest football club — with their 2023-24 third kit made by Kappa. The kit is predominantly gold with red trim on the right sleeve cuff and right side of the henley collar and navy blue on the left. The front of the shirt has a tonal pattern of the griffin from the club crest and the year 1893 fading into view near the bottom. The griffin also appears on the left chest over the number 130.

UDINESE CALCIO – Third

Elsewhere in Italy, Serie A side Udinese Calcio has released their third jersey for 2023-24, which is a collaboration between manufacturer Macron and fashion designer Marcello Pipitone. The black-and-white pattern covering the shirt depicts people running, and is “inspired by the movement, the energy of the team and the people. A graphic that unites different individuals who create a single body, a team.” The crew neck collar and sleeve cuffs feature white, black and yellow stripes.

OGC NICE – Third

French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice blend two shades of blue, representing the ocean and the sky, in their new third kits, made by Le Coq Sportif. The curve on the front of the shirt is “reminiscent of the horizon on the Baie des Anges.” The logos and club crest on the front of the shirt all appear in monochromatic gold “like the blazing sun in the Côte d’Azur sky.”

UD LAS PALMAS – Third

Spanish La Liga side UD Las Palmas pays homage to two of the clubs that were part of the 1949 merger that formed the club as it is today with its 2023-24 third kit, made by Hummel. The red kit features tonal vertical stripes down the front and back; inside those stripes are the crests of Arenas Club and Atlético Club, which were two of several clubs on the Canary Islands that were struggling financially after the Spanish Civil War and eventually came together to form Las Palmas. Sponsor logos on the chest and left sleeve are white, as are the club crest on the left chest and the Hummel chevrons on the shoulders.