Well, in short a good football kit is vitally important to your team’s success. In fact there was a well documented match a few seasons ago when Manchester United changed their strip at half time because they felt that the grey colour cheap football kits that they were wearing was prohibiting them from picking out members of their own team with passes. They changed their kit at half time to a different shirt and went on to win the match.
There are many factors that make a good soccer kit. The main areas to bear in mind for soccer teamwear are looks, performance and durability. Let’s look at these three areas:
Looks – how important really is a good looking football kit? Well, in psychological studies it has been proven that the players who feel that they ‘look the part’ are much more likely to perform at the top end of their mental and physical capabilities. Conversely, a player that feels that their soccer kits is ill fitting, or isn’t flattering to their physique will be much more likely to carry these negative thoughts through onto the field of play. So to answer the initial question, a football team’s kit, like boots, is an important part of football equipment and highly important to a team’s success.
Performance – well gone are the days that all fabrics for soccer kits are the same. The top brands in football such as Adidas, Nike, Puma and Umbro, official manufacturers of the England team shirt, have developed fabrics that can react differently under different climatic and performance conditions. Manufacturer technology has advanced in all areas including the development of fabrics that can stretch to many times their own size and then return to normal or fabrics that can help a player cool down by helping to bring sweat to their surface for draft evaporation.
Of course, comfort is an extremely important factor in the choice of kit. To run for ninety minutes is a hard enough task anyway, without having to contend with discomfort from your strip. A poorly made replica strip can have seams that rub and chafe, and also can be made from a material that is too abrasive to the skin in general.
Durability – Obviously, it is no good investing in a good looking football kit made from state of the art developed fabric if it is not going to last the season. Modern kits are made of fabric that stretches rather than tears at the seams, has enough sheen to glider over the turf in a tackle, and just as importantly doesn’t come out two sizes smaller from the washing machine when it is put through the laundry. Let’s face facts – through the summer months a football kit will get wet and muddy most every week – it really is a sound investment to purchase teamwear that will stand up to the rigours of weekly hot washing.
So whether you are thinking of buying a football kit for your local Sunday football team, or you are the kit manager for a semi-professional club always bear these factors in mind when aiming to choose the right supplier for football kit for your team.
