Now you may have been watching some football game, when you started thinking do footballers wear new kit every game.
Or is it simply just washed and played in every game of the season.
Well when you consider that some clubs at the top level make over a quarter of a million pounds a year, a safe assumption would be that players get a new kit every game.
However, not only just from my research but also experiences, that isn’t always the case.
And while it does happen you would be surprised what actually happens to footballers kits.
So in this post, I will be explaining what happens to the kit, and why interestingly, the reason for wearing or not wearing a new kit doesn’t always boil down to money.
Table of Contents
Do Footballers Wear New Kit Every Game?
The answer isn’t a clear, yes or no. Ultimately it depends on the team.
This is because each team has different instructions on what happens to the kit after a match’s conclusion.
Let’s start with your first division teams in England. What normally happens is a team is given a new set of kit for a match day.
Not only that but as a precaution, players will have a few kits each.
Just in case one rips, an injury occurs where the blood goes on the shirt or if they are planned to be given away after the game.
If we were talking about teams at the top of the football pyramid, a second kit is likely taken with them, especially when playing away from home.
Now while most kit decisions are made before games, occasionally, there can be clashes with kits on the day.
So if that happens, a colour change normally happens, so there is no longer a clash.
When talking about teams further down the pyramid, it becomes increasingly common that shirts are worn multiple times instead of being replaced after one game.
The teams lower down also don’t have the luxury of being rich, so replacing the kit every game would be quite costly.
Going as low as the local Sunday league, it is normal for teams to have one kit issued that is worn for 1 or 2 seasons.
When Are Footballers Required To Wear New Kit?
One of the biggest reasons why footballers have their kits replaced is because it is customized.
While not all the time, kits are made with the details of the fixture on them.
This is more common in club competitions and will feature the fixture’s details and the time somewhere on the shirt.
So if a shirt is customized like this, it makes sense that it can’t be worn the next week again against a new team.
Talking of European competitions, every time a team plays a fixture in the competition, they receive a different kit from the domestic league.
The way their names are presented on the back is displayed in a different font.
Aswell the badge of the competition is normally displayed on the sleeve.
Where Do Football Kits End Up?
Before players put their shirts on for a game day, there is typically a plan of where they will end up after.
Since kits are worn once, they are often kids and competitions.
They more also along with football boots be donated to charity.
This is why you will see many social media posts where the prize is a match worn shirt.
If no plan is in place, players will often switch shirts after the game.
For top players like Ronaldo, Neymar and Messi, they are frequently asked for their shirts.
Players do this so that they can collect them and remember the players they graced the pitch with.
Years ago, clubs used to fine players who did this. However, with how normal it has become, it is typically allowed.
Now if you play local league football like me, it is a lot different.
For one, kits are not swapped at the end of games, mainly because there isn’t any point to it, and it would be costly.
Instead, the kits are rounded up after games and then washed by a member of the club, ready for the next game.
This is likely to be the case for any team that isn’t in the top five club football divisions.
Closing Off
If you are wondering if footballers wear a new kit every game coming into this post, I hope this answered your questions.
If you have any other questions about football kits or just anything in general, do let me know 🙂
