Manchester City Releases Special ‘Year of the Wood Dragon’ Kits

English football powerhouses Manchester City are marking the upcoming Lunar New Year with a new kit and apparel collection celebrating the Year of the Wood Dragon.

City and their kit manufacturer Puma unveiled the collection on their website and social media channels on Thursday, January 18. The centerpiece is the jersey, which is white and features tonal “hand-drawn, wood-carved illustrations that artfully intertwine the strength of the Wood Dragon with the architectural splendour of [Etihad Stadium’s] iconic turrets” on the front and sleeves. The City crest, the Puma logo and the logo of sponsor Etihad Airways appear on the front of the shirt in one-color black.

It’s more than a jersey; it’s an emblem of progress, success, and auspicious beginnings, igniting a passion for Cityzens everywhere.
— ManCity.com

On the back collar, a white dragon is wrapped around the Manchester City crest. The back of the jersey is solid white to allow for name and number legibility

Manchester City’s women’s team will wear the Year of the Wood Dragons kits when they take on Manchester United in their Continental Cup group stage match on Wednesday, January 24. No mention was made on when the men’s team might don the kits, but they may be used as pre-match tops for games leading up to the Lunar New Year.

To go along with the shirt, City have also created a bespoke font for printing names and numbers on the back. It’s inspired with the Wood Dragon and only available through City’s team stores and online shop.

Along with the jersey, City also released a T-shirt, jacket and track pants as part of the Year of the Wood Dragon collection. The shirt and jacket also feature the City crest with the dragon wrapped around it.

The Lunar New Year is coming up on Saturday, February 10. The Chinese zodiac calendar not only contains 12 animals, but also five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal and water — which combine to define the key traits of those born in that year.

According to the website of Bendigo Joss House Temple, a Chinese temple in Australia, those born in 2024 are believed to be lucky, flexible, eccentric, imaginative, artistic, spiritual and charismatic thanks to the dragon, as well as being exceptionally gifted, idealists and planners thanks to the wood element.