Ranking the Best World Football Kits for the 2025-26 Season

This is the best time of the year for football fashionistas, hipsters and particularly in 2025, those looking for a hit of nostalgia.

A common theme throughout the summer’s launch of new kits is harking back to the days of old. It’s tough for a certain audience that the 1990s are now considered retro (this author included). The knees aren’t what they used to be, but the selection of new kits available certainly won’t buckle under inspection.

Here’s 10 of the best for your collection.

10. Arsenal Away Kit

Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Adidas knows what they’re doing with Arsenal’s away kits.

This year’s release is a wonderful navy blue number that is brought to life by the lightning bolts that spark across the entire shirt. It’s a dose of nostalgia. The modern reimagining of the 95-96 away kit uses colours extremely well; the red stripes on the shoulder playing an important part in making the shirt pop.

This will look great with a Champions League patch on it, and you know, finally the name of a striker in Viktor Gyokeres.

9. Ajax Away

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Ajax’s home kits are pretty unchangeable. So much so, it feels like the away kit designers get to go a little harder than usual.

The Dutch club’s away drops are important touchpoints on the annual kit calendar, the 2020-21 classic still a firm favourite for those who like to wear their shirts outside of the football stadium. This year’s isn’t going to pair with jeans and sneakers so well, but the monochrome logo and wavy water effect pay homage to the club’s essence: producing endless amounts of talent.

It’s also rather slick to look at.

8. Tigres Away

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Tigres kits are always worth keeping an eye out for. Often bold and expressive, the Mexican club’s best-known designs feature a giant tiger face front and centre.

It’s been a few years since the iconic tiger has emblazoned the shirt so blatantly, with last year’s claw mark design hinting at a return soon. Well, it’s back, it’s blue, and it’s beautiful, looking like some kind of electrically-charged Rorschach test. What do you see? One of the nicest kits of the year.

7. Newport County Away

Shirts with meaning and a story often stand out. Newport’s away design pays homage to Athletic Club and the Basque region of Spain, two places that are connected by history far more important than football.

Welsh families took in 236 Basque children during the Spanish Civil War, with 56 of them escaping Francisco Franco’s attack by moving to Newport and close by. The shirt has every single one of the children’s names printed on it. As reported by Sky Sports, the parents and carers who took them in are also featured.

Important history and sharp design? An easy winner.

6. FC Nürnberg 125th Anniversary Kit

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Adidas’ offering for Nuremberg feels like it’s been ripped straight from black and white photos, the classic red and white stripes almost needing to be paired with a huge, bushy moustache and shorts that flow down to the knees.

The design is a great example of how less is more when it comes to honouring club history. Gold badges and trimming elevate do just enough to elevate it. Be right back, going to get the Brylcreem.

5. Club America Home

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All the talk of simple and understated can go out of the window for this one. Club America’s bright yellow shirt stands out even before you consider the eagle design that salutes the classic 1994-96 design that many fans fondly remember.

Last year’s home kit was so plain and didn’t feel tailored to the club that has a rich history of winning trophies. This one looks particularly striking with the long sleeves, which pick up the Adidas stripes once the black, red and blue of the eagle outline has finished slapping you in the face.

4. Napoli Away

Any kit worn by Scott McTominay deserves to be taken seriously (since he left Manchester United, anyway).

Italian clubs have defined the fashion side of football kits in recent years, with many playing catch up on Venezia’s viral shoots that have gone a long way to legitimising shirts as everyday wear.

Napoli have followed their Serie A triumph with an away design that celebrates the city and its culture through elegant detail etched into its cream base. McSauce should be ecstatic.

3. Espanyol Away

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Hands up if you’ve ever worn a Kelme shirt? That pawprint logo isn’t prolific in the football world, but if the company keep producing kits like this, it soon will be.

The accents on this shirt really bring everything together, especially around the sleeves and the underside of the collar.

Espanyol are quite often an overlooked team when put up against city rivals Barcelona, who could put Lamine Yamal in a branded bin bag and still sell a bucket load of shirts. The young superstar won’t be wearing anything as nice as this in the coming year, though.

2. Lyon 75th Anniversary

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One word to describe this shirt: CLEAN.

Lyon wore this anniversary design on the final day of last season and are not expected to feature it again.

The addition of the Fly Emirates sponsorship overshadowed its sleek design on the pitch, so it’s a relief to know the retail version ships without the text ruining its flow.

The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance actually makes this something of a collector’s item and a shirt to cherish for those who get their hands on it. The retro logo, the centering, the subtle trim. Too nice!

1. AS Roma Third Kit

Just look at it. Roma’s kits catch the eye year after year. This season’s third kit is simply stunning and includes a combination of popular elements that make it stand out in an extremely high-quality crowd.

It’s minimalist, features a classy combination of colours and the retro ‘ASR’ logo. There’s also a story behind it. Those wonderful greens and the light detail on the white were inspired by Italian gardens. Nature and history are entwined into a new piece of art. A fitting way to round off this list.