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The FourFourTwo shirt guru stands up for template kits with the help of a dynamite Danish number from Hummel

- Words Phil Delves

Few words are a greater buzzkill in the football shirt universe than 'template'. Even the most casual of fans in 2026 will tell you that a bespoke kit is far superior to any template that a brand has handed out to multiple teams with as little effort as possible. As the interest in shirts has increased over the years, more and more people are not content with their team having the same base look as another, especially when they peer over their shoulder to see other sides enjoying all manner of custom designs.

Despite this popular opinion, I'd suggest that templates aren't necessarily a bad thing for the kit industry in and of themselves. In my mind, the issue is rather poorly utilised templates. When a manufacturer lazily rolls one out with little or no customisable features and, crucially, gives teams playing in the same competition almost identical shirts, fans have every right to be disappointed. The higher profile the team donning those kits, the more this hurts.

By contrast, when a brand produces a template that allows for a full range of colour options and construction elements – such as collars, panels and the like – great things can happen. Many times, templates have helped define eras, from the popular Adidas creations of the '90s to Nike's Total 90 kits of the mid-'00s, which can boast of a cult following. There can even be a bit of a novelty factor seeing teams who would have no logical connection twinned by their kits.