New Orleans Jesters honor city's 165 years of soccer in new kits

The New Orleans Jesters of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) have launched all new kits.

While clubs tend to unveil fresh jerseys quite frequently now, the news regarding the Louisiana side is particularly interesting. New Orleans was actually the site of the first documented soccer game in the United States. The match was played in the Big Easy way back in 1859.

To commemorate this history, the Jesters are paying homage to the city’s rich and unique roots. This includes nods towards Mardi Gras, distinctive architecture, and, of course, jazz. Each of these three key features of New Orleans are represented in the home, away, and third kits for the club.

The trio of kits are all made in partnership with Admiral. The English sportswear brand has a deep history in making soccer shirts. In fact, they are one of the oldest sports brands in the United Kingdom. Admiral previously crafted kits for a plethora of soccer teams, in particularly the England national team and Manchester United.

“I’ve always seen this as more than a sponsorship,” stated Admiral owner Paul Hamburger. “To mark such a special year, we wanted to tell the story of the club through these jerseys. Our latest Admiral ID custom uniform builder, made that vision possible, helping us weave multiple stories of the club and the city into each kit. The goal was to honor the home of the Jesters and deliver something unique that would elevate the club.”

All three kits highlight specific themes of the city

The 2024 Jesters home kit focuses on Mardi Gras. The annual celebration essentially takes over the city each year, typically during the month of February. Green, purple, and gold have historically been the three key colors of the final day of Carnival. Admiral picked out specific shades such as ‘peppermint leaf,’ ‘mystical grape,’ and ‘Mardi Gras gold’ to create the home kits. While the three colors are all featured, the main shade of these jerseys is purple.

The away kits are covered in green and include vertical stripes in a nod to the city’s wrought iron balconies and gates throughout the French Quarter district of New Orleans. This particular area is filled with notable landmarks and is the home of Mardi Gras in Louisiana.

Finally, the third kit highlights the lengthy history of jazz in New Orleans. Musical instruments that are synonymous with the genre cleverly cover the entire shirt that features an overall black background. This partiuclar kit is currently a limited edition. All three kits can be purchased at the moment by visiting Admiral’s official website.

Sportswear company’s kit designs are as unique as New Orleans

Much like the city itself, Admiral’s designs for the Jesters are truly unique. They also pay respect to the birthplace of the sport in America. While New Orleans may not have had a professional club for years, soccer has certainly been an important aspect of the city.

The Jesters were previously founded back in 2003 as the New Orleans Shell Shockers. Nevertheless, the team went through a rebranding and took on their current name in 2008. Although they initially started out in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the Jesters moved on to the NPSL in 2012. The division is now the fourth tier of soccer in the United States.