There’s nothing like a good anniversary kit. Elegant, classy, and oftentimes limited, these commemorative shirts are a refreshingly simple take on some of our favorite jerseys.
Football has a nostalgia complex. Like sailors to a siren, fans, players, and pundits are often hypnotized by the glory days of the game they love. It’s where we get overused phrases like “the game’s gone” or the recent #Barclaysmen trend on social media. With a sport as particularly historic as football, the past is unavoidable.
And while constantly looking to the past can be detrimental, it can still give us beautiful gifts. Such is the tantalizing danger of nostalgia. One such gem from the past is the anniversary kit.
It’s not a new trend by any means, but we’ve seen an increase in these commemorative shirts in recent years, and according to Footy Headlines, we will see more throughout 2024 and into 2025.
Colombia debuted a special edition centenary jersey in the most recent international window, and it nearly broke the internet with its classy style and incredible details. It is the quintessential anniversary kit in this sense — it is understated yet nails the minute features perfectly.
Like many other anniversary shirts, the 2024 Colombia centenary jersey uses a monochrome logo set that harkens back to a time where crests and manufacturer emblems were not typically featured on football shirts. The overall design is inspired by the kit Colombia wore at the 1945 Copa America, the first time the nation participated in the tournament. The colors and dimensions of the Colombian flag are front and center, and knit details on the neck and sleeve cuffs are a beautiful touch.
Its simplistic yet luxurious aesthetic makes it a worthy contender for shirt of the year, and its late release will help with recency bias come end-of-year list time. But more importantly, it shows us what a good anniversary kit is all about — unique materials, simplistic design, and intricate details.
In typical football nostalgia fashion, let’s take a look back at some other anniversary kits that also tick all of these boxes.
France 2019
France is no stranger to a sartorially sound football shirt. The nation has been putting out bangers for decades, and it would’ve been a crime if its 100-year anniversary kit missed the mark. Released in 2019, this royal blue number was an instant classic, especially in its long sleeve form. A classy polo collar, gold detailing, and a retro crest created one of the best shirts not just from that year, but also in France’s kit closet.
Japan 2021
Japan also has a fantastic kit history, and has become known for maximalist designs that are feasts for the eyes. Take the iconic 1998 World Cup kit. The sleeves were engulfed in flames on both the home and away shirts, with the goalkeeper jersey doubling down on the fire motif to become something straight out of Guy Fieri’s closet. Japan walked so FC Basel could run in 2024.
But the Japanese 100-year anniversary shirt took that maximalism and threw it out the window. A powder blue base with a simple polo collar and flag of Japan in lieu of the nation’s crest was all it took to create one of the best releases of the decade so far. Add to that a special collector’s edition wooden box, and the execution was nailed perfectly.
Scotland 2023
This doesn’t have the polo collar that Japan and France utilized, but it doesn’t get any classier than Scotland’s 150-year anniversary kit from 2023.
A thick neck cuff and striped sleeve cuffs pop over a deep navy base, and the gold-accented Lion Rampant on the crest can be seen from a mile away. It’s hard to do better than this.
Juventus 2017
We had to include at least one club on this list in addition to the national teams, and there’s no one who did it better than Juventus. The club celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2017 with a beautifully simple retro-inspired shirt that incorporates everything that’s wonderful about Juve kits. The thick sleeve and neck cuffs are things of beauty, as is the trio of stars on the chest.
Clubs, unlike national teams, have shirt sponsors to contend with, and Juventus still had to honor their partnership with Jeep. A blacked-out and shrunken version of the normally gaudy logo was enough to satisfy both company and kit collector, and we’re glad — because anything adulterating this design would’ve been a travesty.
