It was Deion Sanders who famously once said, "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good." But does how flash your kit looks really matter? Can a dazzling example of sartorial excellence help you raise your game to another level? Can a ghastly fashion faux pas drag down your performances?
You'd think there would be, given that pretty much everyone can relate to the confidence that comes with feeling that you're looking pretty schmick today, as well as the hesitancy and self-doubt that can creep in when one glances in the mirror and sees a gorgon staring back at them. There's certainly anecdotal evidence from the sporting world, too; Sanders managed to simultaneously put together a Hall of Fame NFL career and log 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, and athletes everywhere are increasingly turning what they're wearing -- either pre-game or on the pitch itself -- into its own industry and platform.
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But we don't just need to take the players' word for it. Scientific evidence, too, has demonstrated a link between aesthetics and performance. Studies have shown that the clothes we wear and the symbolic meaning behind them have a systematic influence on the wearer's psychological processes through a phenomenon known as "enclothed cognition," while the body and self-image of an athlete have been shown in research to play a "significant role" in their performance.
So, turning our attention to the imminent return of the A-Leagues for the 2025-26 season, does that mean the title could be determined on the catwalk? Well, no. Brisbane Roar lined up in ESPN's favourite kit of last season -- their away shirt was an instant classic -- only to miss finals in both the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions, only narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon in the former.
But in a sport obsessed with details, where every side is looking for an advantage, every little thing can be a bonus. And so, keen observers of fashion that we are, ESPN has cast its eyes over our favourite and not-so-favourite kits ahead of the new season.
Best kits of the 2025-26 A-League season
Adelaide United Women (Home)
After being edged out by the Roar's away kit last campaign, Adelaide has stormed to the top of ESPN's rankings for the coming season, with one important qualifier.
This year's all-red kits, in a slightly lighter shade than last year's offering, feature sublimated detailing designed to evoke the city's art scene, symbolic of a curtain being raised. This is all supplemented by a white collar -- and remember, proper collars make every kit better -- designed to echo those found on a conductor's suit. After last year's transparent offering, the badge has been returned in colour and there's a nice little "The People's Club" design in an art deco style detailing at its bottom.
BUT. Whereas the logo of A-League Women shirt sponsor Flinders University features an all-white design to ensure that it flows with the rest of the shirt, the logo of new A-League Men sponsor Mega Rewards jars very, very badly.
Melbourne City (Home)
Given the colour scheme they're working with, City should be part of best-dressed lists year in and year out, and this year's home offering definitely delivers. The powder blue remains as pretty as ever, with the sublimated detailing across the adding a bit of energy to the design, but it's the contrast white neck and sleeve trim, itself adorned with a layer of red piping, that really push this kit up in the rankings.
The gap isn't anywhere near as wide as it is with Adelaide, but the A-League Women offering from City probably just edges out the men's too, given that their badge and logo is white compared to the gold on the men's. Given that the men won the title to earn that honour, though, City fans probably don't mind.
Brisbane Roar (Away)
Another year, another collection of banger kits from Brisbane and their design partners, Chad Gibson, their inaugural men's captain, and Cecilia Humphrey. In fact, they're the only club this year with two entrants in the top five best dressed list.
Up first, the away kit; a striking maroon offering -- Queensland teams wearing maroon no doubt playing into the symbolic meaning part of enclothed cognition -- also features a proper collar and a subtle off-pink looking trim on the collar and sleeves. The sublimated herringbone pattern of the club's lion -- woven into the kit -- also serves to enhance the overall package in a much-improved manner than last year's sublimated lion on the third kits.
Brisbane Roar (Third)
It doesn't quite hit the highs of last year's all-timer of a cream offering, but this year's version from the Roar is still a banger of a kit in its own right. Featuring a creamy white base, which is a better choice than plain old white, it sports a rich blue raised collar and trimming on the sleeves, which themselves are supplemented with white detailing that evokes the flag of the city of Brisbane.
The olive green shorts that go with it are a peculiar choice, but given the strength of the shirt that will go above it, there's scope to give it a chance to show itself in action. Also worth noting is that these kits, according to the club, are the lightest they have ever worn -- something of a boost in the rapidly heating summers of Queensland.
Auckland FC (Home)
To quote Orson Krennic, "We were on the verge of greatness, we were this close."
In their second year in the A-League Men, Auckland would have been far and away the best dressed in the league if the kit they had unveiled their new signings in over the offseason -- a dark blue strip with thin white stripes, white piping on the sleeves, and a raised white collar with blue detailing -- was their look for the coming season.
Instead, Steve Corica's side will be running out in a predominantly black kit featuring electric blue pinstripes, with white trim around the sleeve and neck supplemented by electric blue piping. It's a very strong kit, one of ESPN's favourites this season ... but we were so close!
Worst kits of the 2025-26 A-League season
Central Coast Mariners (Home)
One of the problems with going subtle with your kits is that you run the risk of going so subtle that, unless you're physically marking someone at a corner, you miss them completely. Such is the case with the banana yellow offering from Central Coast this season.
Looking at the announcement video on the club's socials -- the club's eviscerated communications department hasn't actually put out an article detailing the kits -- it looks like there's maybe a palm tree detailing on the home strip (there is on the away kits that's very nice, and palm trees are always a tick on Mariner shirts) but if it's there it's so subtle that you can hardly make it out.
Add to that recent A-League promotional material seemingly indicating that the shirt will be matched with shorts of the same bright yellow, and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like the Mariners will be going full banana -- or traffic cone, if one is being mean -- this season.
Macarthur FC (Away)
Subtlety is once again being the enemy here, with the sublimated pattern on the Bulls' away kit faint enough that at any kind of distance or on television it's going to effectively look like they're running around in a plain white shirt and shorts.
Also lacking in this year's offerings is any kind of ochre after the club shed it from its logo, which is a bit of a shame, as it helped add a little something-something to their offerings over the years.
Auckland FC (Away)
Again, not to repeat ourselves or anything, but while there might be a "subtle grey diagonal stripe motif" across it, as the club says, from any kind of distance, this is basically a white polo.
Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with white shirts -- the likes of England and Real Madrid have made them iconic -- but without that kind of proud history to fall back on, the Auckland away duds for this year don't do much to quicken the pulse, even if the gold detailing across the raised collar (big tick) and sleeve are a plus.
Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory's away offerings were close to falling into this list too, but the pinstriping on the former and the white chevron on the otherwise grey latter just do enough to spare them.
Adelaide United Men (Home)
The effect that a sponsor can have on a kit made manifest. Even if red, white and yellow are nominally Adelaide colours, the aggressively in-your-face design of the Mega Rewards sponsor logo just doesn't work well with the rest of the shirt. It almost feels like WordArt plonked on top, dragging it down.
Brisbane Roar (Home)
The Roar's home offerings this year aren't a bad kit. They're better than last year's but, if one were being harsh, it suffers from not reaching the same lofty standards that have been set by the club's fantastic away and third strips this season.
Perhaps it's largely down to the clash between the maroon neck detailing (which doesn't feature a collar like the away and third kit) and the main orange body of the strip, especially compared to the more complementary blue on the sleeve detailing.