Major League Soccer expansion franchise Charlotte FC is looking to make opponents green with envy when they take to the pitch in their new away kit.
The club, which is getting set to kick off its inaugural season, unveiled the kit Monday, Feb. 14, on their website and social media. It features a black base with mint green accents, including the adidas logo, shoulder stripes and sponsor logo on the front of the shirt.
The club crest is rendered in mint green and black, and a mint green wave pattern is woven into the collar and sleeve cuffs. A “MINT CITY” logo appears in the lower left jock tag position.
“Named the Newly Minted Community Kit, the design honors the rich history of Charlotte’s Mint and the significant role the city played in minting early American currency,” the club’s website reads. “The kit is flooded in black and rounded out with culturally relevant graphic patterns in the neck tape and sleeve cuffs. The color story coincides with the Club’s crest as ‘minted’ also means ‘freshly made.'”
“We’re very excited to launch the Newly Minted Community Kit as it celebrates our city’s history and progress. It is a way to inspire the vibrant Charlotte community to embrace their own MLS club as we prepare to take the pitch for our inaugural season in 2022. We invite all fans here in Charlotte and across the Carolinas to join the party on March 5 for the biggest MLS match in league history.”
— Nick Kelly, CEO, Tepper Sports and Entertainment
The shorts and socks that go with the shirt will be black with mint green trim. The printing on the back of the shirt and the shorts will be mint green. In fact, the only white on the kit appears to be the sleeve sponsor logo.
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.
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.
The kit unveiled Monday lines up with a leaked photo shared on Twitter in late January. That was a replica version, though, so the details on the collar and the sleeve cuffs differ.
The new kit will be available for purchase starting on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m. ET on the club’s website and at team stores in the Charlotte area.
Charlotte FC play their first-ever MLS game on Feb. 26 when they visit D.C. United. Their first home game takes place on March 5 against LA Galaxy.
All photos courtesy CharlotteFootballClub.com unless otherwise noted