Ripping up the template: How EFL clubs found the magic kit formula, sparked a football shirt revolution (and are reaping revenue)

There’s a shirt revolution happening in the EFL. Last season it was Carlisle United’s ‘Fruit Salad’ shirt, this season Cambridge United’s ‘Wetherspoons Plate’ has fans typing in credit card details at record rates.

A colour palate war has broken out with Kitlocker, who handles Umbro’s licence with four clubs ( AFC Wimbledon , Cambridge United , Carlisle United and Grimsby Town ) responsible.

How they’ve achieved this is so remarkably simple and brilliant, it makes you wonder: why hasn’t someone done this sooner? They’ve literally torn up the template.

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The word template, in football kit terminology, is used to describe a standard design made by a brand that is then rolled out and customised in a club’s specific colours and style. E.g. Newcastle: black and white stripes, Liverpool: all red etc.

Look at Adidas’ shirts from Euro 2024 , and their 2024/25 kit offerings and you’ll notice similarities in details like collars, textures and patterns. Some of the goalkeeper kits are identical in design and colour.

Template kits are a bone of contention among football fans. Ideally, your kit won’t look anything like another club’s. Supporters crave authentic identity. But manufacturers are businesses. Rolling out bespoke templates when you have a vast portfolio of clubs to look after is a costly exercise.

Umbro, via Kitlocker , have done away with templates and for the last couple of seasons produced a completely unique shirt design for their licenced clubs. They have taken advantage of their agility vs a Nike or Adidas and used their dexterity find out what designs make fans of those individual clubs tick.

Now, instead of kit designers dictating their ideas for football kits to the market, as has been tradition, Kitlocker’s designers have gone deeper and worked closer than ever with clubs to produce something properly nostalgic, relevant and eye-catching for all four of the teams they work with.

“Our 24/25 Home kit is a modern take on a strip worn 50 years ago when we were promoted into the first division,” explains Stef McClean, Retail Manager at Carlisle United. “The 24/25 Away kit is a different story. A fan was wearing a jacket in the fan zone at a home game at Brunton Park, this caught the eye of Suzanne in our team, she asked for photo of his jacket and we based the design on that!”

Last season Carlisle finished bottom of the league, but at least they went down in style. Their ‘fruit salad’ design sold 8,584 units. An uplift of 74% on the previous year. It was for my money, the best new kit in the Football League last year.

The extra revenue for a lower-league club could be game-changing. It also creates valuable awareness, brand identity and fans love it. This approach at the other clubs also produced results.

AFC Wimbledon, shirts sold: 5,219, YOY increase: 20.75%. Cambridge United, shirts sold: approx 8,000, YOY increase 25%. Grimsby Town, shirt sales undisclosed, but the YOY increase was also 25%.

“Many fans have said the same thing along the lines of: ‘I only usually buy the home kit but I couldn’t choose so I bought all three!’” explains Marc Jones, Head of Brand, Marketing & Comms at AFC Wimbledon. “Kitlocker and Umbro gave incredible attention and indulgence, we worked together to deliver kits – many kit heads and fanatics put our kits in the top 5 of the entire 92 league clubs.”

If 2023-24 was won by Carlisle’s fruit salad, 2024/25 belongs to Cambridge United’s Wetherspoons plate . But frankly, all three of their Umbro shirts are fantastic, but the away shirt in particular is mesmerising.

“All three kits have surpassed previous opening sales records,” says Gareth Daniels, Head of Retail & Ticketing at the club. “Our away kit went viral and is currently the best-selling shirt”.

We’re not sure if that was the inspiration for the design. In fact, the official press release explains that water lilies along the River Cam was the effect they originally had in mind, rather than Spoons’ fine china.

A League One club, playing in a floral baroque shirt – another kit with all the hallmarks of a classic. All because a heritage manufacturer has given the club proper time of day and found out what fans want: natty patterns and nostalgia it seems.

A local brewery as sponsor helps. As perfect for Glastonbury as it is Blackpool away.

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