Four New Football Shirts with Unique Stories
The new season is still weeks away, but the kit carousel is already in full spin. Across Europe, clubs are using fresh designs to say something about who they are, where they come from, and where they think they’re going.
Here are four new releases that do exactly that.
VVV-Venlo: Black, Mint and a Nod to the City
VVV-Venlo have rounded off their 2026-27 collection with a striking away shirt that feels far more urban than provincial. Crafted by Craft, the design leans into a black-and-mint palette that quietly pays tribute to the city of Venlo without shouting about it.
A deep black base carries subtle tonal striping, the kind of detail you only catch under the lights or up close in the stands. Mint green takes over the accents: logos, sponsor marks, and trim all pop against the darkness.
Then comes the twist. The club’s traditional yellow-and-black crest cuts across the cool mint with a jolt of identity, refusing to be muted by the modern colour scheme. It’s a clean, contemporary look, but the badge makes sure nobody forgets where this team comes from.
Rochdale AFC: Back in the EFL, Back in Style
Promotion changes everything. For Rochdale AFC, it also changes the shirt. Returning to the English Football League, the club have unveiled an away kit by O’Neills that feels like a deliberate statement: softer in colour, sharper in intent.
The base is a gentle pink, a bold choice for a club that has fought its way back up. White side panels carve out the silhouette, giving the shirt a leaner, more athletic shape. A white V-neck collar and matching sleeve cuffs are edged with black and pink detailing, a subtle nod to classic football shirts rather than a full-blown retro throwback.
To finish it off, Rochdale strip the colour from the crest. The badge, O’Neills logo and sponsor branding all appear in monochrome black, cutting clean lines across the pastel background. It’s simple, confident and unmistakably modern – exactly the kind of shirt you wear when you’re stepping back into the spotlight.
FC Copenhagen Women: Tradition in White, Edge in Black and Blue
In Denmark, FC Copenhagen Women step into 26-27 with a pair of Adidas kits that sit neatly alongside the men’s newly launched home shirt. The home design respects tradition first. White dominates, as it always should for Copenhagen, but Adidas thread in a fresh, streamlined graphic in blue and purple across the shirt.
It’s a pattern already seen on the likes of Köln and Yokohama F Marinos, but on Copenhagen’s canvas it feels sharp rather than busy, a modern overlay on a classic base.
The away kit flips the mood. Black takes control, broken by a bold blue sash that cuts diagonally across the front. It’s a high-contrast look, more aggressive than the home shirt, and it gives the women’s side a clear alternative identity for the road. Home is heritage; away is edge.
ESTAC Troyes: A Shirt Built from the Streets
Some kits nod to history. ESTAC Troyes’ new Puma away jersey practically walks you down it.
The design leans on one of the city’s most evocative landmarks: the Ruelle des Chats, or Cat Alley, a narrow, crooked passageway framed by timbered houses that seem to lean in on you. Puma take that sense of place and translate it into colour.
The palette mirrors the tones of Troyes’ historic facades as they catch the light at sunset. Warm, fading hues rather than harsh contrasts, the kind of colours you associate with old stone and wood at the end of a long summer day. It’s a romantic idea for a football shirt, but it roots the club squarely in its own streets.
Shrewsbury Town: The River’s Loop on a Third Shirt
Shrewsbury Town’s latest release completes their set for the 26-27 League Two season, and it might be the most local of the lot. The new third shirt, made by Oxen, turns to geography for inspiration.
The River Severn famously loops around Shrewsbury, shaping the town and its map. Oxen lift that image and place it on the sleeves, where a distinct graphic pattern traces the river’s path. It’s not subtle, and it’s not meant to be. The club even leans into it with the launch tagline: “In the Loop.”
The third kit joins a 140th anniversary home shirt and a newly released away strip to give Shrewsbury a full wardrobe for the campaign ahead. History on the home, options on the road, and the river wrapped around the arms for the wild card.
As these designs hit club shops and online stores, the question lingers: which of these shirts will still be talked about long after the season’s final whistle – and which will be remembered only in old photos and promotion posters?
