Major League Soccer has designs for putting some new shirts on your back. To be specific, new team jerseys from 12 of the league’s 19 teams that will be unveiled in a uniform manner (sorry!) beginning next Monday through Feb. 28. The league’s 2013 season opens with six games on March 2 and three on March 3.

“I’m relatively new to the league, but the first thing that struck me was the incredible detail that went into the jerseys with Adidas and each of the clubs,” Maribeth Towers, the league’s senior vice president of consumer products, said. “It’s apparent these are works of art.” She added, “I think some of the details are lost to fans, like some slogans and team chants on the back inside collar tape, but every last detail has meaning to the club, its history or its city.”

Clubs that have scheduled jersey introductions (some teams will be showing either a primary, secondary or a third shirt) are: Chivas USA, Colorado, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Montreal, the Red Bulls, Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle. Beginning next year, each of the 19 clubs will unveil a minimum of one new jersey every year.

As most soccer fans know, many teams around the world are in the habit of modestly tweaking their shirts each season to, well, sell more merchandise. On the Internet, fans have turned the jersey introductions into a sport of its own, often posting “leaked” photos of shirts that may or may not be accurate. It is usually an ad hoc system of introduction by the clubs, usually announced on team Web sites.

“Celebrating Jersey Week by unveiling the updated looks of 12 Major League Soccer clubs is the perfect way to kick off the 2013 season,” Ernesto Bruce, Adidas’ M.L.S. Manager, said in a statement. “Working in partnership with M.L.S. and each of the clubs, we have designed and produced new uniforms that not only respect the authenticity of the game, the teams and their supporters but enable each athlete to perform at their highest level.”

With a theme of Jersey as Art, M.L.S. has asked the dozen teams this season to participate in an organized launch the week before the start of the regular season. It will begin in Manhattan Feb. 25 when the Red Bulls show off a new primary uniform at Pier 59 Studios at Chelsea Piers in conjunction with the club’s annual media day.

“This is part of the sport,” Towers said. “It’s part of what makes it different and interesting, and it’s something fans look forward to. At the same time, we did not want to detract from what they do in their local markets. The clubs had a tradition creating interesting launch celebrations, our goal is not to take it over, but to bring onto a platform to raise the profile what they are doing individually.”

The Galaxy, for example, will introduce their third jersey, one designed by a fan in a club-sponsored contest, on Feb. 27 at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, only days after the annual Grammy Awards.

The Portland Timbers, a team that has three shirts (green, red to show off the city’s Rose City moniker, and a limited edition white shirt), has organized an event on Feb. 28 as part of the city’s Last Thursday on Alberta Street, a monthly street fair in the a part of town that has many art galleries.

“Every gallery will display a piece of Timbers art created by fans, and two of the galleries will unveil the new jerseys,” Mike Golub, the Timbers’ chief operating officer, said. “We all know that the Yankees don’t change their jerseys, but this is one of the different qualities of soccer. We won’t change too much, the white jersey will remain the same, but in soccer it’s an accepted rhythm of the sport and I think it’s something the fans really enjoy.”

All of the new jerseys will be available for order at MLSgear.com and MLSgearcanada.ca. (Some of the clubs will have their new shirts available in popup stores at their launch parties.) The authentic (short-sleeve) shirts (those worn by the players) retail for $125 and replica shirts for $85.

New season, new shirts. Hey, just like Europe!

Do you own any M.L.S. jerseys? If so, which ones and how many? And what do you think of the league’s/team’s plans to update jerseys every year? Marketing/merchandising grab or authentic soccer experience?

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