February 16, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Philadelphia Union News Release
CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union today unveiled its 2022 “For U” primary kit, featuring a revitalized new look that pays homage to the early days of the Union. The kit, once again designed with the help of the fan-based Creators’ Collective, includes details reflective of the city and the fans. As with jerseys past, it continues to highlight the club’s roots with blue and gold design details throughout and a prominent vertical stripe, reminiscent of the club’s inaugural jersey.
“The ‘For U’ kit features a new take on the classic Union center stripe that was part of the inaugural kit,” said Shaun Kreider, Philadelphia Union Creative Director. “In wanting to recognize the city and the fans that have been the lifeblood of this club, the stripe, gold on our inaugural kit, is now a bold signal blue, drawing on the colors of the Philadelphia flag and the club’s supporters. The stripe has also moved to sit over the club crest on the upper left of the kit, directly over the heart as a symbol of our emotional link to our city and our fans. This kit helps us honor our legacy while representing the club’s growth from a grassroots, fan-led movement to an established, perennial contender. I’m immensely proud that these links to our history, and the evolution from the inaugural kit was driven by our Creators’ Collective, which led the process of turning what was old, new again.”
Reflective of the early days of the Union, the kit includes a single stripe down the front. Once directly down the center of the jersey, the stripe is now on the left side, over the heart, and is now Signal Blue with gold trim rather the solid gold stripe that ran down the center of the inaugural kit. This change reflects the flags of the region and the colors of our supporters group, the Sons of Ben.
The “For U” kit features a gold lightning bolt on the back of the neck, alluding to Ben Franklin’s key and kite experiment, as well as the quick strike, fast-paced play of the club on-field. It is also a nod to the Union’s secondary kit which heavily features a lightning bolt pattern. As the club’s most popular piece of iconography, the Union’s snake has appeared in some shape or form on every primary kit since the inaugural kit in 2010, and this year it lives near the base of the kit on the jock tag. Bimbo, the club’s exclusive jersey sponsor, returns to the kit and is featured in gold for the first time ever.
The Union Creators’ Collective, or UCC, was once again at the forefront of the conception of the 2022 kit. The UCC was established in 2019 and is made up of season ticket holders, Sons of Ben members, Union super fans, members of the media, and Union employees. This group met multiple times over the course of two years to participate in every step of the jersey design process including building and creating the creative brief that went to Adidas, giving feedback to concepts and art, and reviewing samples well before launch.
“We started designing this kit before last year’s BY|U kit was released. We hoped the 2021 shirt would be successful, but had no idea how well received it would be,” said Chris Gibbons, Union Creators’ Collective member for both the 2021 and 2022 kits. “Following that with a primary kit, one where the identity of the team had to be front and center, was a challenge. We almost unanimously wanted to bring back original elements like the vertical stripe, but in an updated way. In the end, we came up with something that will be immediately recognizable as a Union shirt, in person and on TV, a quality we listed a high priority.”
The 2022 Kit Launch Event will be held on February 19 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Subaru Park. Fans will have the opportunity to “pose like the pros” as they experience the photo and video media stations that Union players go through every year in preparation of the start of the season. Those who would like to secure their spot can sign up . The “For U” kit is on sale now at MLSStore.com, Fanatics.com, and Adidas.com.
The Union will wear their 2022 primary kit at their home opener at Subaru Park on Saturday, February 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET against Minnesota United FC. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.PhiladelphiaUnion.com.
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