Arsenal FC has caught the eyes of Kenyans after unveiling their official 2024/25 away kit. The kit which coincidentally has a combination of white, green, red, and black, colors associated with the Kenyan flag.
The kit evoked many opinions from Kenyan football commentators and sports pundits. However, others touted it as an ode to the Palestinian flag which also bears the red, green, and black colors.
The kit design is a fashion collaboration between Adidas and Labrum London (a British African heritage brand).
“We’re celebrating our connection to our African supporters via inspiration from the continent’s design traditions. Featuring the traditional pan-African colours of black, red and green, this shirt is punctuated with a striking white zig-zag graphic designed by Labrum London founder, Foday Dumbuya.”
The design takes cues from Africa, the continent that produced former Gunners stars like Emmanuel Adebayor, Nwankwo Kanu (who makes a cameo in the launch video), and Kolo Touré.
The away shirt is plain black with a lovely balance of green, white, and red. The contrast between the colors is what is striking about the jersey. It has red and green logos and stripes on the shoulders and collar. A white runs down the arms and flanks of the torso and continues onto the shorts.
The Kit Explained
According to the manufacturer, the hand-drawn black speck patterns, represent cowrie shells. Cowrie shells were once widely used as a form of currency in Asia and on the Eastern coast of Africa. The highly decorative shell, from a type of sea snail, was in use as far back as the ancient Egyptians.
Despite Kenyans “owning” the kit, the Arsenal management has made it clear that the red and green color pairing is inspired by traditional pan-African art and decoration. The trifecta, in addition to black, pays homage to the Pan-African flag, a banner that has been representing the African diaspora since the 1920s.
Kenyans are still mad with the official designs of the Olympic kit paraded a week ago, by our athletes, at StateHouse. The Arsenal kit type of look is what many Kenyans expected, futuristic, relevant, and all-inclusive, and were so underwhelmed with the final look. The Ministry of Sports and former Sports CS, Ababu Namwamba, maintain that the design submission process was free and fair and the best designer won.
“Rwanda will be plenty mad. Arsenal’s 24/25 away kit is what the Kenyan Olympic kit would have looked like. Arsenal embraces Kenya and Africa. This will be a hit in the parts. South Sudan and Kenya enjoy..” captioned Amin Virani, a Kenyan filmmaker and pop culture commentator.
The two brand names have also collaborated on an accompanying range of apparel. The range includes two jackets, a sweater, a T-shirt, and track pants.
