A new Ligue 1 season can only mean it’s new kits season! As the 2024-2025 Ligue 1 McDonald’s season is fast approaching, with Le Havre hosting defending champions Paris Saint-Germain this Friday, the French top-tier outfits have unveiled the threads they will be wearing from August to May 2025 and we at Get French Football News want to run the rule on the teams’ newest maillots. Again, there are some bangers and some shockers, but every 18 Ligue 1 home kits will be rated out of 10, in customary fashion:
Angers
The Anjou side is back among French football’s elite after only one season in Ligue 2 following their last-place Ligue 1 finish in 2023. Angers have swapped their Juventus-like design with thin white and black stripes for a bolder look with black becoming the kit’s dominant shade, like it used to in the fifties. I’m a big fan of black footy jerseys but the bland Nike template barely does justice to this one. Still, the thin golden stripes in the front and the plain back in black make it a good-looking Ligue 1 shirt.
Verdict: A good start, black football shirts work a treat. Don’t look back, Angers. 6/10
Auxerre
Well, first of all, that is not how you unveil your football kit for your return to Ligue 1. Just look at the horrendous lighting of this. The backlighting makes the pic all too shadowy. It feels amateurish for a professional football club. As for the sponsor-filled kit, it looks like a throwback for throwback’s sake with an eighties-inspired diagonal which makes the club’s crest – can you find it ? – feels out of place. The different shades of blue in the triangular-shaped pattern and the classy-looking collar can’t salvage this mediocre effort from Macron.
Verdict: We are all fans of retro-looking football kits if made properly, which is not the case here. 3/10
Brest
Is it deep red and filled to the brim with local sponsors? Yes, so it’s still very much a Brest home kit. Les Pirates have fought their way to the revamped 8-game Champions League group stage with some spectacular, brave and entertaining football last season. Too bad, their home kit displays none of those qualities. Thankfully, it does have some redeeming features. Although it looks like it is glued and not stitched to the kit, the club’s crest stands out and the Adidas template keeps it neat and simple. All and all, it’s a slight improvement compared to last season’s mediocre effort.
Verdict: Fewer sponsors would have made this kit look good under the bright Champions League floodlights. 4/10
Le Havre
Last season’s Le Havre blue kit was a bit ruined by an out-of-place sponsoring gambling company in red lettering, and we regret to inform you it’s still there again. It’s a real shame considering Le HAC boast one of the most distinctive Ligue 1 kit templates with both halves in different shades of Ciel et Marine blue. After last season’s shipping containers pattern, kit suppliers JOMA have opted for the scales-like design to pay tribute to the salamander – the emblem of Francis I of France, founder of Le Havre – which can be seen on the club’s crest. A fitting choice for a second skin.
Verdict: We can’t wait for Ligue 1 to issue a blanket ban for betting companies on the front of the shirts. 6/10
Lens
After two frankly forgettable Lens home kits, we didn’t know what to expect from PUMA anymore. Thankfully, the German kit suppliers seem to have remembered what a Sang et Or jersey should look like. PUMA have gone for the vintage medium-sized red stripes with an elegant pattern inspired by the Bollaert-Delelis stadium’s architecture. The bold black V-neck in harmony with the tip of the sleeves works a treat as well. And if you want to look good and feel good, the replica jersey is reportedly 95 % made of recycled textile waste. Modern and traditional-looking, a winning combo.
Verdict: A timeless look. 8/10
Lille
In the past seasons, Lille and New Balance have provided us with some great-looking kits. Can the American sportswear brand do the same for the 80th anniversary of Les Dogues? Yes, they can! The traditional Lille scapular being made of mini scapulars, the smart-looking dual-coloured collar, the dark shade of red… There’s no shortage of eye-catching features for this Lille home kit, but I’m no fan of those unnecessary blue and white stripes on the sides. Still, New Balance keep striking the right tone between boldness and aesthetics.
Verdict: Lille x New Balance is the Ligue 1 partnership that keeps on giving good-looking kits. 7/10
Lyon
Last season, Lyon and Adidas arguably offered us the best-looking Ligue 1 kit there was. For the German brand, it was a tough act to follow. This time around, the sportswear giants have cooked up a design inspired by the two rivers – the Saône and the Rhône – that flow across the Lyon metropolis with a large blue and red stripe fading away. The red and blue stripes on the sides also extend onto the shorts, giving the ensemble a sleek, elegant and bespoke look. Les Gones‘ 24-year partnership with Adidas is still going strong.
Verdict: Adidas delivers again with an elegant look that truly feels lyonnais. 7/10
Marseille
Football kits look really good when they are being worn by Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but there’s more to this Puma x Marseille alliance than meets the eye. Of course, it takes a special kind of effort to ruin an OM jersey considering the specifications are quite simple: that will be plain white with sky blue detailing, that’s all and thank you very much. For this season, Les Phocéens will rock up a crest redesigned as a coat of arms. Unadventurous as a whole, yes, but Marseille fans have no reason to feel disappointed by this.
Verdict: A plain but satisfying effort. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. 6/10
Monaco
Now we’re talking. To celebrate the centenary of the Principality club, Kappa and Monaco have designed a football jersey that mashed up eight particular details that featured in the kits worn when Monaco won the league. The nod to the rich history of the 8-time Champions is as subtle as it is important, but the downside of it was to make it feel like eight Monaco jerseys of different eras were crammed into a single one. But it does not. Quite the contrary, it works wonderfully well. The polo-looking collar might be divisive, but Monaco will be fittingly dressed to impress in the revamped Champions League.
Verdict: Kappa have outdone themselves with this tribute jersey for Monaco’s centenary. Outstanding. 9/10
Montpellier
La Paillade fans had little joy recently with plain or shocking Nike-made threads. For the club’s 50th anniversary, I dreaded what the American sportswear giants had in store for Montpellier. I expected nothing and I still feel let down. The Hérault side has gone for the reinvented navy blue scapular going all the way to the bottom of the kit with the top and sleeves adorned in orange. I’m no fan of this because the blocky shape makes it look like the kit is on top of another one. Still, Nike had the decency to pick orange shorts.
Verdict: How hard can it be to design a fun jersey when orange and navy blue are your colors? 4/10
Nantes
Italian kit suppliers Macron opted to pay tribute to Nantes’ past heroes by resurrecting the large green stripes reminiscent of the kit Les Canaris walked the league with thirty years ago, setting a still-unbeaten record of 32 league games without losing. I’m won over by the tilted stripes, the indented collar and the eight stars placed on the back. A different color for the front sponsor would have made this kit a Nantes’ all-timer. It’s a different matter entirely to see Antoine Kombouaré’s team play as good as they look though.
Verdict: This is how you design a vintage-looking football shirt. Macron, we were not familiar with your game. 8/10
Nice
For their second season in charge of the INEOS-owned Ligue 1 side’s threads, Le Coq Sportif had the responsibility to design Nice’s kit for the club’s 120th anniversary. Le Gym’s black and red stripes are on show with the sleeves predominantly red. The crest, the kit suppliers’ logo and the front sponsor are in gold lettering to honor the club’s rich history. Absolutely nothing wrong so far. According to the club, Le Coq Sportif won’t produce replica shirts as a testament to the kit’s authenticity, which means fans must pay €100 to look like their heroes, which they may not like, like the shorts being white instead of black.
Verdict: A very Nice kit in more ways than one. Le Coq Sportif have upped their game. 7/10
PSG
At last! American sportswear giants Nike have finally produced a “Hechter” kit with a large red stripe surrounded by thinner white stripes, to the delight of PSG fans worldwide. Nike have reinvented the iconic PSG look with the stripes looking like they have been painted on. A subtle nod that is supposed “to reflect the disruptive identity of the Parisian club.” Les Parisiens certainly disrupted the transfer market on more than one occasion but, at least, their latest multi-million recruits will look tremendously good wearing this beauty of a football kit.
Verdict: PSG fans have got their wish fulfilled. Nothing else matters. 8/10
Reims
Stade de Reims have ditched English sports manufacturer Umbro for PUMA. Of course, the German kit suppliers were never going to reinvent the wheel there. Reims will keep sporting red kits adorned with white sleeves, which gives their look some serious Arsenal vibes. Unlike the Gunners, Les Rémois’ latest threads boast a MASSIVE white v-neck which I deemed frankly unnecessary. What is it even for? Besides, the jersey features thin dark pinstripes to remind “the two immense characteristic pillars” of the city’s cathedral, which hosts the coronation of the kings of France. It also looks like skid marks.
Verdict: At first glance, I thought it was a bad Valenciennes kit. Boring. 3/10
Rennes
Considering Stade Rennais owner François Pinault is the majority shareholder of PUMA, through his Artemis holding company, it’s only logical the German kit suppliers are in charge of Les Rouge et Noir‘s threads for 18 years now. For their 2024-2025 creation, PUMA have paid tribute to the 218 km-long Vilaine river flowing across the Rennes region whose pattern makes it look like you could perceive the players’ blood vessels. It’s also a subtle nod to the club’s identity because the Roazhon Park stadium lies on the river’s banks. The club’s under-10 players were the first to wear the new jersey, a nice touch that encapsulates the club’s faith in their youths within the famed Stade Rennais academy. A kit launch done right.
Verdict: Even the ginormous sponsor can’t ruin this bold effort from PUMA. 7/10
Saint-Etienne
The most distinctive jersey shade in French football is back in the top tier with Les Verts. For a third consecutive season, Hummel supply Saint-Etienne with chevron-adorned kits. The plucky Danish brand has designed seven thin pinstripes as a tribute to the Loire city’s seven hills. It’s a bit too sponsor-filled for my liking and I’m no fan of those darker features below the white chevrons. But I’m sold on the hybrid V-neck round-neck collar and the classy-looking France flag at the end of the sleeves. The jersey is also designed from polyester produced from eight recycled plastic bottles. Green in name and nature.
Verdict: Sainté are back where they belong and they won’t look bad in Ligue 1. 6/10
Strasbourg
Adidas have designed a remake of Strasbourg’s kit for the 1986-1987 season when Les Alsaciens delivered… one of the worst campaigns of their history as they finished ninth in Division 2. But they still somehow reached the Coupe de France quarter-finals in defeating then-French champions PSG, embodying the club’s ability to overcome setbacks coming their way. The German brand could have chosen a worse template for Strasbourg’s latest threads. The polo-style collar is divisive but the bright shade of royal blue and the pinstripes give the ensemble a sleek vintage look.
Verdict: Like the past efforts, the light green touch of the sponsor ruins a more-than-convincing jersey. 6/10
Toulouse
Oh no! Toulouse boasted one of the best home Ligue 1 jerseys last season thanks to Craft. It seems the Swedish manufacturer was not high-profile enough for Le Téfécé, which opted to join the Nike roster. The American sportswear giants have designed a template that would not have looked out of place in your fantasy league’s kit creator. The beauty pageant scarf-like diagonal strip, the two different shades of purple and the sheer absence of noticeable features… It’s a botched job, plain and simple. There’s a fine line between simplicity and hollowness and Toulouse x Nike have gone the wrong way.
Verdict: The second worst downgrade in France’s southwestern football since Bordeaux. 2/10
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
