Goalkeeper Kits

Since the advent of organised football, teams have always employed a goalkeeper, although it was not originally the specialised position it has become. Just as the offside law, and the changes to it, proved decisive in the development of tactics in the game, so the rules governing the handling of the ball have shaped the goalkeeper´s role. The Laws adopted by the newly formed Football Association in 1863 allowed any of the players to handle the ball, and as a consequence the goalkeeper was simply the deepest lying defender. This rule was changed in 1872, where after just one player per team was allowed to handle, but could do so anywhere within his own half. Although the differentiation between the goal keeping position and outfield players was now more clearly defined, it would take another ten years before players could be regarded as specialist goalkeepers. Subsequent changes to the Laws further defined the goalkeeper´s role. Crossbars and nets were made compulsory and in 1894 charging a goalkeeper was only allowed when the ´keeper was playing the ball or obstructing an opponent. This effectively stopped the practice of charging a goalkeeper over the line as he jumped to catch the ball, although the exceptions to the new rule still allowed some brutal challenges. In 1912 the F.A. finally restricted goalkeeper´s to handling the ball within the confines of the penalty area.

Since the goalkeeper had originally been the last defender, he wore the same colours as the rest of his team mates and it was not until the start of the 1909/10 season that goalkeepers were required to wear different colours. Initially the options were either royal blue, scarlet or white. Royal Green, added for the 1912/13 season, quickly became the standard for all League clubs. The League´s rule was frequently ignored by both clubs and match officials until the League threatened to fine offenders in 1913.

Goalkeeper shirts were soon being made from a much heavier wool than the outfield players´ jerseys, perhaps after they had been restricted to the goalmouth, and usually had a polo top neck. This style of jersey was worn by goalkeepers until the mid 1950s.In 1921 a new ruling that goalkeepers must wear a deep yellow jersey in international matches was approved.

Shirt Numbers

Shirt numbers were not required by the Football League until the start of the 1939/40 season, although it is believed they had been used as early as 1928. Players were numbered 1-11 based upon the old 2-3-5 formation (which teams had almost entirely abandoned by 1939). The system remained unchanged, although it had been revised following the advent of substitutes in the ´Sixties, until the adoption of a squad numbering system in the Premier League for the 1993/94 season, and the inclusion of player´s names on the shirts.

The birth of modern kits

Hungary´s 6-3 victory at Wembley on November 23rd 1953 proved to be a watershed in the history of the game in England. It was the first time a continental side had won on English soil, and seven months later Hungary´s superiority was emphasised in a 7-1 victory in Budapest, England´s heaviest defeat. The manner of the defeats led to a full scale evaluation of all aspects of the national game; England´s tactics, training and technical ability had all been visibly shown to be lacking. Even the lightweight, modern kits worn by the Hungarians, which had initially drawn a quizzical and derogatory response from commentators, were seen as further evidence of England´s decline. There had been few developments in kit design and materials since the First World War. but now new materials and technology were embraced as the English game fought to catch up with the continentals. Leading the way was Matt Busby and the Manchester based kit manufacturer Umbro. In 1955/56 United experimented with new kits for the outfield players, and a year later introduced a new goalkeeper´s kit. The traditional heavy wool shirt with rolled neck was replaced with a more lightweight jersey with rounded collar, similar to the shirts worn by the rest of the team. By the end of the decade this new design had replaced the more traditional polo neck woollen shirts.

For decades goalkeepers had worn tracksuit bottoms when the pitches were frozen or covered in snow. The proliferation of under soil heating at modern stadia has largely ended this tradition although there are still the odd occasions when trackie bottoms are still worn. Peter Schmeichel wore them at Rapid Wien in the Champions League in 1996/7 and in the F.A. Cup tie against Wimbledon. More recently Massimo Tiabi sported them in all three of his games for United in September 1999.

Sponsorship Regulations

Sponsors logos first appeared on United shirts in 1982/83, although in televised games, the regulations meant they had to continue wearing plain shirts that season. To meet UEFA's regulations on advertising, United had to adapt several of their kits during the Eighties and Nineties. The variants are discussed here. The FA and UEFA have permitted different sized sponsor's logo on shirts in the competitions they oversee. The Premier League regulations stipulate that the logo cannot exceed 250cm², whilst for UEFA competitions, the maximum size is smaller at 200cm². The kit that best illustrates the difference in the size of the respective logo is the 2011/12 change kit (right). Many thanks to Paul Jolley for allowing us to use photographs from his collection of shirts. The Premier League decided in November 2016 to allow a sponsors logo on the right shirt sleeves from the 2017/18 season. Manchester City were the first club to announce a deal, with Korean tyre manufacturer Nexen, worth a reported £5m per season. United signed a sleeve five-year sponsorship deal with Kohler reportedly worth £20m per season which started in 2018/19. Sleeve sponsorship is forbidden under UEFA regulations.

Further reading

Historical Football Kits has a more comprehensive history of football kits in general. England Football Online has a more detailed history of shirt numbers.