Historical Football Kits

 

Major League Soccer 2016

mls logo 2015The 21st MLS season kicks off on 6 March and runs through until the play-off final in the first week of December. Following on from last year's changes, 2016 will be a season for consolidation and there are no changes in the format or membership. Plans have, however, been announced for future expansion to twenty-four teams. Teams from Atlanta and Minnesota will join MLS next year. In 2018 a new team from Los Angeles will join the competition. The much publicised Miami franchise fronted by David Beckham has been struggling to get municipal approval for the location of a new stadium: two sites were rejected by local authorities but a tentative agreement has now been made with the city mayor's office to redevelop the site of the former Orange Bowl. No date has yet been announced for Miami to start playing in MLS. In the longer term, the Board of Governors have commited to further expansion to 28 teams but no timetable has yet been established.

All of the strips intoduced this year feature the new Adidas style in which the iconic three stripes have been moved to the side of the body. Expansion teams and those that have rebranded are permitted to introduce new strips as they wish, otherwise franchises must retain each kit for two years.

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Logos are the property of MLS and MLS franchises. Opinions expressed on this page are those of HFK and not contributors.

 

Chicago Fire SC (Eastern Conference)

chicago fire 2016 1st kit

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chicago fire 2nd kit 2016

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chicago fire 2016 3rd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Valspar

chicago fire crestThe signature white chest band that went missing in 2012 is back along with a new sponsor while dark blue continues as an accent colour to make a very smart outfit. Naturally the existing change strips has been updated with the new sponsor's logo.

Chicago finished bottom of their conference in 2015 with the worst record in MLS.

(Ivan Barsby)

 

Colorado Rapids (Western Conference)

 colorado rapids 2016 1st kit

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colorado rapids 2015 change kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Transamerica

colorado rapids crestColorado had a poor 2015, finishing last in the Western Conference. The new first strip was revealed on March 10 and is more or less the same as last year but with the latest Adidas styling on the shirt.

(Ivan Barsby)

 

Columbus Crew SC (Eastern Conference)

columbus crew 2015 change kit

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columbus crew 2016 1st kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Barbasol

columbus crew crest 2015The launch of the new Columbus second strip provoked a veritable Twitter storm of derision. The intention was to incorporate the colours of the city flag into the strip and market it under the "For Columbus" strap line but the decision to wear bright blue shorts (a minor element in the flag) makes the whole thing look ludicrous. Last season's black change strip now serves as first choice, robbing the team of their distinctive look.

Columbus reached the MLS Cup final last season.

(Brian Ridder)

 

DC United (Eastern Conference)

dc united 2016 1st kit

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dc united 2015 change kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Leidos

dc united crest 2016The new first strip is, as usual, all-black but now has red trim instead of white. The team made it as far as the Eastern Conference semi-finals last year. A redesigned crest appears on the first kit.

(Brian Ridder)

 

FC Dallas (Western Conference)

fc dallas 2016 1st kit

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FC DALAS 2015 CHANGE KIT

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Advocare

fc dallas crestMy prediction about the new Dallas first kit was, of course, entirely wrong. Rather than matching the design of the change strip, the new shirt features two-tone hoops offset with fine white stripes.

 

Houston Dynamo (Western Conference)

houston dynamo 2015 kit

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houston dynamo 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: BHP Billiton

houston crestHouston have kept their 2015 first choice strip and introduced a dramatic new alternative.

 

Los Angeles Galaxy (Western Conference)

la galaxy 2016 1st kit

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la galaxy 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Herbalife Nutrition

la galaxy crestGalaxy had a very modest 2015 season and were knocked out in the first round of the play-offs. Their new first strip introduces a very attractive two-colour sash. The change strip is unchanged apart from the restyled sponsor's logo type and a single gold star to represent their five MLS Cup wins.

 

Montreal Impact Impact de Montréal (Eastern Conference)

montreal impact 2016 1st kit

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montreal impact 2015 change kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bank of Montreal

montral impact crestMontreal have reinstated striped shirts last seen on the 2013 third kit, reflecting the motif on their crest. A nice touch is the jock tag, now with an English rose, Scottish thistle, and Irish shamrock along with the French fleur-de-lys.

(Brian Ridder)

 

New England Revolution (Eastern Conference)

new england revolution 2016 1st kit

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new england revolution change kit 2015

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: United Health Care

new england revolution crestThe Revs new first shirt is supposed to remind us of the uniforms worn in the War of Independence. Frankly this is a bit of a stretch: the vertical stripes look smart enough without trying to evoke yet another spurious historical connection.

 

New York City FC (Eastern Conference)

new york city fc 2015 kitnew york city fc 2015 kit

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new york city fc 2nd kit 2016

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Etihad Airways

new york city fc crestAlthough NYC failed to reach the play-offs, they attracted an average of 29,000 fans to their home games, making the newcomers the third best supported side in MLS. Their eye-catching new second strip is meant to reflect the energy and dynamism of New York City.

(Brian Ridder)

 

New York Red Bulls (Eastern Conference)

new york red bulls 2015 kit

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new york red bulls 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Red Bull

new york red bulls crestThere is not much that is different with the Red Bulls' new change strip (although the shorts and shorts have not been confirmed). The Adidas three-stripe trim has been moved to the side of the body in common with all of Adidas' new releases. The Red Bulls won the Supporters' Shield on goal difference last year and in any other league would have been the champions.

(Brain Ridder)

 

Orlando City SC (Eastern Conference)

orlamdo city sc 2015 kit

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orlando city sc 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Orlando Health

orlando city sc crestPurple sleeves have been added to Orlando's change strip as well as the latest style of Adidas trim. Although the kit is relatively plain it looks very smart.

 

Philadelphia Union (Eastern Conference)

philadelphia union 2016 1st kit

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philadelphia union 2015 change kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bimbo

philadelphia union crestPhiladelphia reached the final of the US Open Cup last year but lost out to Columbus Crew in a penalty shoot-out. They have updated their first strip to the latest Adidas design. The jock tag on the shirt is the rattlesnake adopted by the Continental Marines during the Revolutionary War along with the motto, "Don't Tread On Me."

 

Portland Timbers (Western Conference)

portland timbers 2016 1st kit

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portland timbers 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Alaska Airlines

portland timbers crest 2016Portland won the MLS Cup last year, their first major honour, beating Columbus 2-1 in the play-off final. Their first strip has been updated with a star above the crest and a modified sponsor's logo. A brand new and very striking alternative has been introduced in the usual rose red and black colours. Dark green shorts are available for the first kit and red for the second when colours clash with opponents.

 

Real Salt Lake (Western Conference)

real salt lake 1st kit 2016

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real salt lake change kit 2015

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Life Vantage

real salt lake crestSalt Lake's supporters will want to forget their team's 2015 campaign when they finished next to last in the Western Conference. Supporters are disappointed that blue shorts have not been reinstated in the new Adidas design.

 

San Jose Earthquakes (Western Conference)

san jose earthquakes 2016 1st kit

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san jose earthquakes 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Sutter Health

san jose earthquakes crest 2014For the first time in five years San Jose have secured a shirt sponsorship deal. The change strip is new.

 

Seattle Sounders (Western Conference)

seattle sounders 2016 1st kit

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seattle sounders 2015 change kit

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seattle sounders 2016 3rd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: XBox

seattle sounders crestThe Sounders' home attendances averaged over 44,000 making them the best supported team in MLS by a considerable margin. They reached the Western Conference semi-finals but were beaten by Dallas on penalties. Their new first kit is in the new Adidas template with sublimated vertical stripes made up of stylised "'S's". The third kit has a flecked pattern printed into the shirt fabric.

 

Sporting Kansas City (Western Conference)

sporting kansas city 2015 kit

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sporting kansas city 2016 change kit

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sporting kansas dcity 3rd kit 2015

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Ivy Funds

sporting kansas city crestKansas hold the US Open Cup after beating Philadelphia on penalties. It is time for a new change strip and Adidas have supplied a navy set with tonal blue bands across the chest.

 

Toronto FC (Eastern Conference)

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bank of Montreal

toronto fc crestToronto made it to the first round of the play-offs where they were beaten by their Canadian rivals, Montreal. Their new change strip is a tribute to Toronto Metros-Croatia who won the NASL championship 40 years ago.

(Ivan Barsby)

 

Vancouver Whitecaps (Western Conference)

vancouver whitecaps 2015 kit

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vancouver whitecaps 2016 2nd kit

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Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bell

vancouver whitecaps crestThe graded front on the new Vancouver change shirt is meant to evoke the misty horizons over the Pacific and is marketed with the strap line "Sea to Sky." There is a subtle pattern sublimated into the fabric to represent ripples on the surface of the ocean and the reflections of the North Shore Mountains. Outstanding.