Purported Charlotte FC Away Kit Has Club Cashing In on ‘Mint City’ Nickname

Major League Soccer expansion side Charlotte FC may be looking to cash in on its hometown’s “Mint City” nickname with its inaugural away kit if a leak posted to Twitter Monday is legitimate.

Charlotte FC fan account @charlottefcszn posted the photo on Monday afternoon. It shows someone holding up what they say is the replica version of the club’s away kit for the 2022 MLS season, which will be the club’s first in the league.

The jersey is black, with mint green adidas stripes on the shoulders, mint green Adidas logos and a mint green-and-black club crest. A “MINT CITY” logo appears on the lower front left corner in the jock tag position. The crew neck collar is black, and there appears to be a pattern of wavy or diagonal lines on the sleeve cuffs.

*Screenshot: **@charlottefcszn** / Twitter*

If the leaked shirt is indeed a replica, as @charlottefcszn said it is, then it may not have the exact same elements that the authentic on-field kit will. For example, when a replica of Charlotte FC’s inaugural home kit showed up on store racks early, it didn’t have the same striping details on the collar as the authentic version released about a month later.

@charlottefcszn added in the replies to the initial tweet that the photo did not accurately capture the mint green color on the jerseys. “Promise you it’s a lil more greener off camera,” they told one person. Another asked if the accents were white or mint green, to which they replied: “Mint green. It looks better in person.”

They add in another reply that the kits will go on sale Feb. 17.

*Photo: **@charlottefcszn** / Instagram*

Meanwhile on their Instagram account with the same handle, @charlottefcszn replied to a comment speculating about the shorts and socks that go with the shirt: “[For real] t he shorts and socks are important for this one.”

Charlotte, North Carolina, gets the “Mint City” nickname from the fact that the city was home to the first United States branch mint, which opened in 1838. It specialized in gold coinage, and was established so that merchants and miners didn’t have to transport gold all the way from mining operations in North Carolina to the main U.S. mint at the time, which was located in Philadelphia.

*The U.S. Mint and Assay Office in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo courtesy **Wikipedia**)*

When North Carolina seceded from the Union in May 1861, the Confederacy seized the Charlotte mint and continued making coins there until October 1861. It was then converted to a hospital and military offices for the remainder of the Civil War. After the war, the General Assembly of North Carolina petitioned Congress to re-open the mint in Charlotte, but that request was denied.

Charlotte FC has included nods to the Charlotte mint in other parts of its identity. The round shape represents a coin, while text inside the roundel reads “MINTED 2022.”

Charlotte FC unveiled their name and logo in July 2020. The club was slated to begin play in the 2021 MLS season, but that was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ll play their first-ever MLS match on Feb. 26, 2022, when they visit D.C. United, and their first-ever home match at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on March 5, 2022, against Los Angeles Galaxy.

We reached out to @charlottefcszn over Twitter to get more details on the kit, but had not received a response as of publication. This story will be updated if we do get a reply.

Feature photo courtesy @charlottefcszn / Instagram