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Chris Wright, Toe Poke writer
A new season always brings a raft of fresh kits to gaze over lustily as clubs around the world change up their look in a bid to part supporters and jersey aficionados with their hard-earned cash.
By now you are probably familiar with the home, away and third alternate shirts released by clubs across the top leagues for the 2024-25 campaign — many of which we have already rated and slated over the past few weeks in our rankings of kits released by every team in the Premier League and by those clubs from Europe’s other top divisions competing in the UEFA Champions League.
However, as part of our never-ending quest to find the finest kits on offer, we’ve also been busy scouring other leagues across the globe in pursuit of the perfect jersey. From Mexico to Greece to Brazil, here is our pick of a dozen of the most stylish, chic and debonair football shirts that you will find anywhere this season.
Because they are all so gorgeous, we have simply presented them in alphabetical order.
Athens Kallithea, home (Kappa)
No strangers to elegant kits thanks to manufacturers Kappa, Greek Super League side Athens Kallithea have once again produced a beautifully refined home jersey — a classy navy polo shirt adorned with tasteful light blue trim and just a dash of red. The club’s white-and-navy away jersey is almost as nice, too.
Just to top things off, the club are sponsored by the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (ΕΜΣΤ), which is a pretty apt logo to have emblazoned across the front of a Greek modern classic.
Atlético Clube de Portugal, away (Lacatoni)
Having been promoted to Liga 3 for the first time in their history in 2022-23, Lisbon-based Atlético CP are now firmly established in the third tier of Portuguese football and have celebrated by giving themselves with a pair of fine-looking kits for the new campaign.
The pick of them, though, is this 1970s-inspired throwback. It features a dark blue V-neck and shirt collar above a clean white base, thanks to the absence of a sponsor. Running all the way across the chest and shoulders is a multicoloured chevron ribbon that mirrors the bands of red, blue and yellow found on the triangular club crest. Tão bonito!
Augsburg, third (Mizuno)
Bundesliga club Augsburg have released a trio of gorgeous kits for the 2024-25 campaign, but their finest work is the wine red third shirt, inspired — as you may be able to glean from the publicity shots — by the Roman empire.
The material features an embossed graphic print that depicts various Roman artifacts that have been unearthed in and around the Bavarian city of Augsburg over the years. Unsurprisingly the sublime shirt has proven instantly popular among fans, with the club having to restock several times already to meet the extraordinarily high levels of demand since launching it in early August.
Cancún FC, away (Adidas)
Resplendent in white-and-gold with a design that is, according to the club, inspired by “sacred lands,” Cancún’s away kit has a delicate hexagonal graphic that conjures images of the golden sands of the Yucatán Peninsula and the Caribbean Sea that gently laps against it.
There is something of a trend for luxurious white/gold away kits this season (Mainz, Nice, Vitória Setubal and Xolos have all produced similarly regal-looking efforts) but the Mexican second-tier side’s design is definitely a cut above the rest and pairs perfectly with their mountain-themed home kit.
DAC Dunajská Streda 1904, home (Macron)
DAC finished runners-up in the Slovakian first division last season, so naturally they’ll be hoping that the introduction of a super sharp new home kit will help them scale the giddy heights this time around.
Presented as a “pattern from the past to set an example for the future,” the DAC kit is an homage to the club’s original home kit worn in 1904 and retains a simple, pared-down striped design that is nonetheless distinguished and charming. Throw in their delightfully retro club crest and it’s a real winner.
Latina Calcio, away (Ezeta)
The Italian third-tier club have gone high-concept with their 2024-25 kits; both the blue home and white away shirts are inspired by the classical legend of Ulysses and his interaction with the enchantress Circe.
Complete with a superb sash, the away version features patterns taken from a vase supposedly created by Persephone in the 5th century BC. It depicts the meeting of Ulysses and Circe on the island of Aeaea after the Trojan War that led to the goddess changing members of Ulysses’ crew into animals. That helps explain the lion, then.
Levante, third (Macron)
Using their traditional claret-and-blue colours as trim, Levante’s third jersey features a greyed-out check pattern that on closer inspection reveals small clusters of pixels, hashing and other interesting flourishes dotted all over at intervals.
It’s very cool — and that’s before we knew that the club roped in Valencia-based rapper (and lifelong Levante fan) Medina Kid to help launch it.
Palermo, third (Puma)
The base is off-white and the borders of the shirt are peppered with a tasteful multicoloured mosaic that is intended to denote the Sicilian city’s multicultural makeup and historic importance as a melting pot of Mediterranean culture and commerce.
The contemporary club crest has been swapped out for a vintage variant used between 1979 to 1986 which was designed by Piero Gratton, the Italian artist who also designed Roma’s classic wolf’s head logo.
Palmeiras, third (Puma)
Celebrating their 110th anniversary in fitting fashion, Brazilian giants Palmeiras have draped themselves in auric splendour for the new season.
The gleaming third shirt was introduced as symbolic of the “golden years” enjoyed by the club over more than a century of their existence, during which time they have become the most decorated and successful club in Brazilian top-flight football.
Sampdoria, third (Macron)
As any football kit aficionado will tell you, there really isn’t any such thing as a “bad” Sampdoria kit, with the Italian club sticking fastidiously to the classic banded design that has served them so well since the 1950s. One version was even selected top among ESPN’s 101 best kits of all-time.
All three of the Blucerchiati‘s jerseys feature a decorative pattern inspired by the flocked walls of the Palazzi dei Rolli in Genova, but the navy blue third jersey is absolutely the most effective canvas for the lush embellishment it provides.
Versailles, away (Kappa)
Another jaw-droppingly elegant batch of design from Kappa, both of Versailles’ primary and secondary jerseys take inspiration from the exquisite Regency-era art and craftsmanship on show within the Palace of Versailles.
The blue home shirt features a pattern taken from the castle’s fine parquet flooring, but the away kit is the show-stopper with its white base overlaid with a geometric grid design based on the beautiful octagonal “Cabochon” tiles that were popular in France during the reign of Louis XV.
Arguably the most stylish shirt to grace this season’s Champions League, the Swiss club have drummed up an absolute winner with a bright aquamarine away shirt that is positively laden with ultra-metallic golden trim.
A visual homage to the clear waters of the River Aare, that flows through Bern and into the Rhine, the body of the jersey has a rippled effect with the shimmering logos supposed to replicate the effect of light bouncing off the surface.
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