The January transfer window may have been and gone, but for kit nerds our window never shuts. Announcements of new club/brand partnerships can strike at any moment throughout the year, and one such deal has me especially excited as we look ahead to the rest of 2025 and beyond.
After swirling rumours for the best part of a month, adidas confirmed their return to Club América last week. The two parties are no strangers to one another, having previously worked together in separate stints across 80s and 90s, and the deal represents a significant change in the shirt landscape after 25 years of Nike x Club América.
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Before I talk about exactly why you should be excited about this particular deal, a brief word on Nike. Often when a new or returning kit partner swoops in, we as a kit community collectively breathe a sigh of relief as the previous brand are ousted. This isn’t the case here though. Nike and Club América were great together, consistently producing some of the best designs which routinely made their way into the collective consciousness. More recently the 2021 third was a hit with the community, whilst I was partial to the 2016 away. The 2007 goalkeeper is also a sleeper hit for best shirt of the 2000s.
But despite my appreciation for what the Swoosh did with Las Águilas, my body is ready for what the three stripes are about to do. Here are 4 reasons I’m optimistic:
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1. They were responsible for one of the greatest kits of all time
The football shirt industry has been peddling nostalgia at an incredible rate over the past few years, with all the big players dipping into their (and even their rival’s) back catalogues to varying degrees of success. With so much retro influence around us it can be easy to dismiss any historical nod as little more than a lazy design direction, but it’s important to separate the wheat from the chaff.
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In the case of adidas and América, the partnership was responsible for one of the greatest football kits of all time. I’m serious. The 1994 Club América home is one of those shirts that transcends the game. Though less heralded than other GOATs like Holland ‘88 or Denmark ‘86, the 1994 CA home was and remains an immediate headturner with its black, red and blue pattern that spans across the top of the kit like eagles wings. Though the adidas template was used by a selection of other teams, most notably Germany, it never looked as good as it did in the capital of Mexico.
So good was the design that Nike paid tribute to 1994 across multiple kits throughout their tenure, notably the 2017 home and away. Nothing came close to the OG though, and I’m very much looking forward to a tribute to the original alongside (hopefully) some other more subtle nods. If we get a ‘94-inspired jacket my wallet is in danger.
2. adidas are hitting their stride
For many years we used to talk about ‘the big 3’ in football shirts. Nike, adidas and Puma were jostling at the top of the industry for the best part of a decade, before Puma arguably fell off shortly after a brilliant 2020/21 season (for reference, think the Italy renaissance kit). Nike and adidas have battled closely in the years since, but the current state of play suggests that it is the Germans who are pulling ahead of their rivals.
adidas’ doubling down on retro, seen through collections such as the Terrace Icons range and this season’s trefoil-laden third kits for the brand’s elite teams, has proven to be a hit. The recent Colombia centenary kit was praised as one of the shirts of 2024 (and rightly so), and I still think about what adidas produced ahead of the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
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I wouldn’t go as far as to say we are now in ‘big 1’ territory, but adidas are the kings of the castle in my book. It’s a great time for any team to be with the three stripes (Liverpool clearly agree, too), and Club América couldn’t have timed their reunion any better.
3. Club América will (potentially) be an elite adidas team
As if Club América x adidas part 3 isn’t exciting enough already, it’s quite possible that the Mexican giants will emerge later this year as part of one of the most exclusive clubs in the game. A small selection of teams get the fullworks treatment from adidas as an “elite” team, with seasonal lifestyle collections throughout the year and, crucially, authentic/player-spec shirts using adidas’ Heat.Rdy tech. I mentioned the third shirts from this year which included the trefoil; Club América would also be involved in campaigns like this as an elite team.
The reason I’m exercising a degree of caution here by saying that América are a “potential” elite team is that the reports of the club’s ascension are not 100% water tight. When reading the press release of the new deal the suggestion is very much there, with adidas saying “The partnership positions Las Águilas as a leader in continental football, both on and off the field, and reintroduces them among the elite clubs worldwide.” (emphasis added). Still, we’ll just need to be prepared for this to be a case of people getting carried away based on the wording of a press release.
Until we see Heat.Rdy Club América kits available to buy and a trefoil third kit or similar, I’m keeping my excitement in check. But if we do see Club América in the elite tier it will be a big win for fans and collectors alike, taking my hype levels from a 9/10 to 10/10.
4. More eyes on the Mexican league
Liga MX has long been one of our favourite leagues in the world for kits, and América’s switch to adidas ultimately means there’ll be more eyes on the Mexican top tier (the shock transfer of Sergio Ramos didn’t hurt either).
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As we’ve talked about Nike were no slouches during their tenure with Club América, but adidas’ (re)arrival represents a sign of intent. The brand have had a solid presence in the region thanks largely to a longstanding partnership with Tigres UANL which stretches all the way back to 2006, but the new deal is the kind of shakeup a league needs from time to time.
In recent years Mexican brand Charly have been winning hearts and minds with their strong designs for Mexican club sides, and other often underrepresented brands like Under Armour, Joma and Umbro have or have recently done good things in the league. For all of Puma's struggles, they’re typically much better for their Central and South American sides compared to Europe.
If you’ve never paid much attention to Liga MX kits you’re sorely missing out, and Club América x adidas might be exactly what you need to start a new obsession.
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Looking to commemorate Nike’s brilliant stint with Club América? We have a bunch of their kits available in store today. Or for more Mexican goodness the popular 1998 Mexico reissue is also available in multiple sizes with multiple printings.
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