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9 Best MLS Kits of All Time

While US soccer may not be the most popular or wide-reaching in terms of its global interest, its status has been slowing each year since its inception.

Over the seasons some of the best players in the world have played in the MLS to experience what playing in front of the famous US supporters is like, they have all done so wearing some of the most amazing and sometimes outlandish kits ever. 

Today we will be taking a look at a selection of some of the best, with the top jerseys being chosen to make our list of the best MLS kits of all time.

For the sake of fairness, each club can only feature once on this list, so don’t be surprised if some of your favorites miss the cut. 

Here are the 9 best MLS kits of all time.

9. Atlanta United 2017 – Home Kit

As far as most Atlanta United kits go, they can often be pretty forgettable as they tend to play it safe compared to some of their rivals across the country.

The one major exception to this was the 2017 primary kit though, the Adidas-produced kit kept things simple but opted for a design that perfectly suited the club’s crest and team colors. 

Known as the ‘Five Stripes’, Atlanta always should have a kit with five stripes on it in my opinion, which is what makes the 2017 kit so special to fans of the club and those further afield.

The kit also features gold printing on the sleeve and of the sponsor, giving it a classy look that sort of encapsulated the entire project at Atlanta. 

On the field, Atlanta enjoyed a strong season in the Eastern Conference. The club managed to finish in 4th place in order to qualify for the play-offs, winning 15 matches along the way.

Once in the playoffs, Atlanta failed to make a major impact and bowed out of the MLS Cup at the first hurdle. 

8. FC Dallas 1997 – Away Kit

While the previous kit discussed made our list thanks to its relatively safe approach that promoted simplicity, the 1997 FC Dallas away kit was the complete opposite of this.

This wild kit designed by Nike featured a number of peculiar things that aren’t regularly seen on soccer jerseys anywhere in the world. 

To begin, the jersey featured squad numbers to the front of it rather than on the back, placing them over the primary sponsor and giving the jersey more of a motorsport look.

This was a clever piece of marketing that most likely went unnoticed by some fans but given the popularity of motor racing in Dallas, it is no surprise that the design went down well. 

As for the major talking point of the kit, the large black horse printed on the front gave the jersey more of a grunge-inspired look that was typical of the late 1990s. the jersey looks like something you would have seen people in the park wearing rather than on the soccer field, and I think this is what made it so cool. 

7. Montreal Impact 2016 – Home Kit

Another team that has pretty much played it safe for their entire existence, the Montreal Impact 2016 Primary was no different in that respect. This being said, the simple design of the kit made the team’s colors really pop and gave the team a stylish look that few others could match. 

The black and blue stripes on the jersey resembled those of famous European clubs such as Inter Milan and Club Bruges, with these teams often considered to have the slickest jerseys on the continent. 

The players and games that the kit was worn by/used in do play a part in how well they are remembered, and the 2016 season was the best that Montreal Impact has experienced to date.

With legends such as Didier Drogba tearing it up in Canada, the Impact made a real charge toward the title and finished 5th in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, Impact made it all the way to the Conference finals before being knocked out by fellow Canadians Toronto FC. 

6. Kansas City 1996 – Away Kit

It’s back to the bizarre for the 6th placed kit on this list, the Kansas City 1996 away. This is one that has never been matched in terms of its bold range of colors and was worn by one of the most loved Kansas players of all time.

If you don’t know who I’m talking about, I of course mean the great Vitalis ‘Digital’ Takawira who played for the then-named Kansas City Wiz for four years, playing over 100 games and scoring 29 goals during his time in Kansas. 

As for the kit itself, this crazy Adidas design features a blend of blue, red, white, and yellow that worked perfectly in a sort of wave pattern to give the Wiz a truly unique look.

It was also a solid season for the club in the Western Conference, with them finishing in 3rd place behind only Dallas Burn and LA Galaxy. 

In the playoffs, the Wiz made it to the Conference Final against LA Galaxy but lost out to the side that went on to lose the MLS Cup Final. 

5. Chicago Fire 2005 – Third Kit

Some kits are simple, some are bonkers, and others are just plain cool! This for me is arguably the ‘coolest’ of the kits included in this list in the sense that it is unique and inspired by the local area that the club is from.

Identity is something that is crucial to most soccer fans around the world, and it has often been said that MLS teams lack this identity when compared to their European or South American counterparts, but the Fire put this debate to bed in 2005. 

This sky-blue kit took inspiration from the greater Chicago area and featured many important landmarks such as Lake Michigan and the flag of the city on it.

Of course, the Fire’s iconic look also remained on there, with the iconic crest completing a fantastic kit that brought sports fans from across Chicago together in their love of the team. 

4. Portland Timbers 2014 – Third Kit

The Timbers are one of the oldest US-based soccer teams in the league, and often like to remind their rivals of this fact whenever they get the chance. In 2014 the Timbers were performing well and wanted to have a kit inspired by their history and boy did Adidas deliver on this request.

Resembling the first kits that the Timbers used around 50 years ago, the green and yellow colorway brings a stylish look that was completed by the addition of a collar to the jersey.

Partner this with the sleeve patches from the era that featured an American flag, and you have the greatest Timbers jersey of all time. 

The club failed to make the playoffs this season though, narrowly missing out in the Western Conference after finishing in a disappointing 6th place. The Timbers needed just one more point to overhaul the deficit to the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

3. LA Galaxy 2007 – Home Kit

Arguably the most successful MLS team in history thanks to their amazing recruitment department that has brought stars such as Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, and David Beckham to the States over the years, it is no surprise that their jerseys have become equally as iconic. 

While there are plenty of great Galaxy kits that could have made the cut, the 2007 Primary was the jersey I first remembered seeing the stars of Los Angeles tear it up in.

This was of course the season that saw the club rebrand itself entirely in the hopes that it would help increase the global appeal of a move there, and to the US in general. 

The kit itself was relatively simple yet gave the club an instant identity. The long-sleeved version remains one of the most sought after for fans of the Galaxy due to it being the personal choice of Beckham during his time in LA.  

2. LAFC 2022 – Home Kit

There may be a fair bit of recency bias coming into play when it comes to this pick, but the latest kit made by Adidas for the rapidly developing LAFC franchise is one of the best that has been produced for American teams.

It has now been five years since the team began its quest to conquer the soccer world in the United States, with the famous black and gold colors remaining prominent throughout. 

This jersey features a centralized badge with an art-deco-inspired pattern running throughout in order to give the kit a touch of class that most others don’t have.

Speaking of class, LAFC also managed to win the MLS Cup this season for the first time thanks in no small part to the quality of Giorgio Chiellini and the timeless talent of Gareth Bale. 

The golden theme doesn’t stop when it comes to the sponsors or numbers on the jersey either, the color is everywhere you look which now seems appropriate for a team that is the champion of the country. What will Adidas come up with the newly crowned MLS Cup champions next season? 

1. Seattle Sounders 2014 – Away Kit

I mean, how could the Sounders not take the top spot? The Seattle-based club has long had the most iconic kits in the entire MLS thanks to their longstanding relationship with Microsoft has seen the Sounders don a variety of kits featuring the iconic Xbox sponsor on the front of the jersey. 

While the primary kits have always been loved, they are more of a sponsored color than anything individual, meaning that they just aren’t as cool as some of the away kits that the Sounders have come up with, especially the 2014 edition. 

The black main body of the kit is offset by the green trim that runs around the jersey and shorts, giving the kit a bold look that many fans around the world wanted to buy for themselves.

Like many others in this list, the jersey is now very difficult to find for a good price as people want to have it in their collections. 

Not to mention the Sounders had an amazing season in 2014, taking the top spot in the Western Conference and winning the US Open Cup before an eventual loss in the MLS Cup Conference Final to LA Galaxy.