Premier League Kits Evolution
Football today is not what it was yesterday. The sport has seen some astonishing changes in the past two decades, and it is constantly evolving as years go by. As such, the English Premier League has not been left behind and it has come to terms with the way the world is evolving, with more innovations and technology.
With the evolution of football, has come the evolution of the fashion and the kits being worn by players from time to time. The EPL, which is considered to be the biggest league in the world, was not as glamorous as this back then.
It took conscious efforts to restructure and redefine the English game. It will be impossible to talk about its kits’ evolution without mentioning the structure that was put in place to form the Premier League.
The Foundation of the Premier League
At the end of the 1990-91 campaign, a proposal for the establishment of a new league, which received the support of representatives of all eighteen First Division clubs, as well as The Football Association (FA) through its “Blueprint for the Future of Football” publication, was tabled.
The Premier League gained popularity and was built in stages through the signing of the Founder Members Agreement on 17 July 1991, before the intending clubs handed a joint notice of resignation from the then Football League.
On 20 February 1992, the 22 First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse, and three months later, on 27 May, the Premier League was established as a limited company. A total number of 22 teams took part in the inaugural season of the Premier League.
ITV were the exclusive rights holders of Football League matches, having paid £44 million over four years (1988–1992). The joint bid by the BBC and British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was withdrawn and that was how ITV became the rights holder.
The Premier League was created “to prevent the top clubs from losing income to the lower leagues”, but also served the purpose of maximizing the clubs’ bargaining position for when the next television contract was up for renewal.
Following the formation of the Premier League with a two-man board: Rick Parry, as the chief executive, and Sir John Quinton, who was later appointed as the league’s chairman in December 1991. Decisions were to be taken by all members, through a one club-one vote motion. A clear majority needed two-thirds.
The 22 teams that formed the Premier League were later reduced to 20 clubs to promote development and excellence at club and international level. The reduction became possible at the end of the 1994/95 season, when four clubs were relegated to the second division and just two were promoted.
Since then, three clubs have been going on relegation, with teams climbing through the other lower divisions to make their debut in the Premier League to date.
Gradual Changes to Premier League Kits
The English Premier League at the time started growing in reputation with fans, football lovers, and players – taking note of the changes made to commercialize the league and ensure that dividends are being spread across the clubs and investors alike.
One critical element at the time and which was quick to note was what the players were wearing. However, simply looking at the part means nothing if a jersey doesn’t have the performance to go with it.
One of the most noticeable changes in jersey design comes in the fit. The sport has evolved to be much faster and more aggressive and jersey design has followed this evolution. Back in those early seasons, Premier League players were wearing much looser-fitting jerseys.
To prevent shirt-tugging and keep up with the rigours of the modern game, things are a lot more close-fitting nowadays. While this trend certainly helps the players to be more comfortable with football, it has also made the work of the referees easier.
Without any doubt, the fit remains one of the most important aspects of Premier League Kits’ evolution. However, changes have come in the design, and the Premier League – as a leading league in the world – has strived for excellence and uniformity in the designs and type of kits being permitted in the division.
Another thing that is of importance is the clubs trying to also maintain their image and reputation on a global scale – important for marketing, supporter rapport, and overall reputation.
Based on those, EPL clubs have made slight adjustments to their colours or crests in the last 20 years, but changes to the jersey designs have been more frequent in every new campaign and fans tend to look forward to them.
Over the years, fold-over collars have become less popular but can still be seen in retro kits for special occasions. What we now see regularly today is a collar design that fits tighter around the neck and chest area to create a more symmetrical design with the shirt.
Adidas, Nike, and Puma are the biggest kit manufacturers in the Premier League and the world at large. Some seasons ago in the Premier League, Nike did a V-shaped and more relaxed open-feel kit for Chelsea. A slightly different style to the collar cut of Adidas.
Generally, designs are now being done with the speed and agility of the modern game in mind. Designs now contribute immensely to the production of a more relaxed fit, meaning less fabric resistance on the upper body and ultimately better breathability compared to other designs.
While the likes of Nike, Adidas, Umbro, and Puma have taken the top spots over the years, names like Under Armour, Reebok, and Asics have taken a back seat out of the park.
There has also been a transition from the likes of Umbro and Kappa, towards Nike and Adidas as society and football have changed.
The Premier League Badge, Font and Changes
The Premier League, over the years, has undergone rebranding as its logo was redesigned. As a means to advertise the league, the logo has to be placed on the sleeves of players.
The decision to have the patch on the sleeve of the jersey means instant recognition and great introduction to a large audience about the competition that is currently on.
As part of the evolution of the Premier League and its components, just before the start of the 2016-2017 season, the Premier League rebranded its design to be more recognizable across the globe.
The Premier League followed the raving trend of brands adopting sharp colours, curved edges, and stand-out visuals to have a stronger impact. The new design used bright colours and a more stand-out visual to match the high-octane, emotion-driven, and insatiably competitive atmosphere of what happens on the pitch and in the stadiums surrounding it.
A stronger use of sharp colours easily featured on the New Premier League logo signifying the intensity of what happens on the pitch.
The design still maintains its simplicity. As expected, the rebranding in the Premier League meant that the official ball also received a revamp to reflect the new Premier League logo.
When the Premier League was born in 1992, there was no standard font across teams, with each club having a typeface supplied by their kit manufacturer. In addition, no player names were displayed on the shirts yet.
From 1993 onwards, it became a requirement for clubs to register specific players alongside a designated number. But still, kit manufacturers gave clubs different fonts.
The fonts were all serif in style, borrowing a leaf from the books of the blocky American football fonts of the early 90s. 1994/95 title winners Blackburn Rovers had one from Asics but Manchester United had a similar one from Umbro, Liverpool similar from Adidas, and Arsenal similar from Nike.
The competition badge patch – a square combined with an upside rectangle, with the Premier League logo – was given a slight tweak in 1993 with the introduction of player names on shirts. Reigning champions got a special golden version of the patch.
A serif font appeared in 1997 and there was a defined shadow that came with it and the Premier League logo at the base of the logo. It was made available in white, black, navy, yellow, red, royal blue, and gold over the years.
Arsenal were playing with that font in the Champions League as recently as 2006 when they made the final – though bizarrely, only for their yellow away shirt – while Leeds United and Newcastle United used the iconic PL typeface on the continent, too.
For the 2003/04 season, there was a new sleeve patch for the competition, with a very subtle update.
The First Big Premier League Font Switch and Other Changes
The first big switch started in 2007. This font was also serif – it had pointy bits on the letters, basically – though it was a little thinner than the last one and omitted the shadow this time around in favour of outlining the letters themselves.
Like the old font, this one was available in a variety of colours for clubs depending on what colour the shirt was that it was printed on.
In 2016, the “Premier League” text went sans-serif for the first time. Accompanying this new branding, clubs got a new, round patch for their arms – navy for 19 sides, gold for the champions – but not a new font.
Just 12 months later, the league introduced a new shirt font, too. This new change came too quickly and perhaps because the Premier League still hadn’t finalised upon it at the time.
It was the first sans-serif typeface in the competition’s history. The outline slightly within the letters was replaced with a thicker outline to make the text stand out more, while the lion sat on the bottom of the numbers, as ever.
Unlike the previous ones, this font was available in fewer colours than ever before, to help with legibility. This particular font came out in bright yellow instead of the previously used gold, while white, black, navy, and red were all standard.
Premier League Fonts Now
Ahead of the 2023/24 season, the Premier League announced kit changes that will affect every single side.
The Premier League has unveiled a glossy new font and sleeve badge to be used on every club’s kit from the 2023/24 term onwards. The names and numbers on the back of shirts also took on new looks, while sleeve badges received a drastic overhaul.
Working with supplier Avery Dennison, the new font includes a striking graphic pattern. The changes to the font are subtle, but a completely different sleeve badge will be used. Players will now have the iconic Premier League lion on their right arms.
“We wanted to work closely with Avery Dennison, using their expertise and experience to create new names and numbers which were not only clearer for those watching matches in stadiums or at home, but which also incorporated the Premier League brand more readily”, said the Premier League’s chief commercial officer Will Brass in a statement.
“The names and numbers have become part of the fabric of the Premier League. For fans, having the name and number of a favourite player, their own name or even a personal message helps to bring them closer to the competition and their favourite clubs.”
Avery Dennison chief Simon Allen added: “The beauty of the Premier League is that it creates era-defining names and numbers. It is very rare that the design itself changes, so it is an honour for the team at Avery Dennison to have been part of that process.
“The request was for the new design to be an evolution rather than a revolution. With many components to be considered, such as legibility, durability and readability, we also needed to keep sight of the Premier League branding.
“Through everything, we wanted to ensure that what we put on the pitch keeps the fans in the stadium and watching at home at the heart of it.”
The winners of this season’s Premier League will be awarded a gold “champions” lion for their sleeve badge.
Final Thoughts
The Premier League Kits evolution will continue to happen and it will be interesting to see where things go in forthcoming seasons.