After more than 100 Kit of the Week articles, we’re sure you will have seen a theme of appreciation for weird and wonderful, one-off football shirts develop across our pages.
We’re talking special edition anniversary shirts, Christmas kits and more recently, we’ve even seen a fiendish Halloween strip worn by Serie A giants Napoli.
Yet we will always have room in our hearts for German clubs and their seemingly endless appetite for football shirts toasting their local festivals.
From Oktoberfest in Munich to gingerbread biscuits from Nuremberg, the imagination involved in producing these polyester-based pieces of civic pride is really quite impressive.
This week saw 1FC Köln up the ante with the release of their latest kit to celebrate the city’s Fastelovend Festival.
After last year’s carnival was cancelled due to Covid restrictions, the people of Cologne are ready to party and Uhlsport have made sure they’ll look the part.
This season’s Effzeh karneval shirt is covered in colourful confetti, but it’s the introduction of a snazzy red bow tie to the collar which has really sets whiskers whirling at Bundesliga HQ.
As the unique detail is sewn into the shirt, sadly, it falls foul of league rules, with fears arising that players could somehow be injured by the tiny little piece of material flapping around under their neckline.
Therefore 1FC Köln will wear an adapted version for Sunday’s clash with Union Berlin (November 7, 2021) but the original design is still available to buy here.
UPDATE: Die Geißböcke (the Billy Goats) had striker Anthony Modeste to thank for their point as they played out a 2-2 draw with Union Berlin at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Sartorial Soccer 