Every grassroots club committee knows the feeling. The season is approaching, the kit is looking tired, and somebody needs to sort new shirts before pre season training starts. Football kit printing is one of the most common jobs we handle, and it comes with its own set of practical questions that do not really apply to general branded clothing. This guide walks through exactly how it works.
Quick Answer
Football shirts and sports kit are typically printed rather than embroidered, since the process handles bold club crests, sponsor logos, and squad numbers more practically across a full team order. Club crests and sponsor branding are usually screen printed or applied as heat pressed vinyl, while player names and numbers are almost always vinyl, since it gives crisp, durable lettering that survives regular match day washing. Kent based printers, including Tshirtsareus in Canterbury, work with grassroots, youth, and adult football clubs, and can supply anything from a single replacement shirt to a full squad kit with matching training wear.
Why Football Kit Printing Works Differently to General Clothing
A standard branded t-shirt order usually involves one design applied consistently across every shirt. Football kit is different, because most of what appears on a shirt varies from player to player. The crest and sponsor stay the same across the whole squad, but names and numbers are individual to each player, which means every shirt in the order is technically slightly different. Getting this right depends on an accurate squad list and a printing method suited to that kind of variable, per item personalisation.
What Goes on a Football Shirt
Club crest. Usually placed on the chest, either printed or heat pressed, matched as closely as possible to the club’s official colours and design.
Sponsor logo or lettering. Commonly placed across the chest or back, depending on club preference and any league rules about sponsor visibility.
Squad number. Almost always applied using vinyl, typically on the back and sometimes repeated smaller on the shorts or front.
Player name. Usually printed above the number on the back, following the same vinyl process for a clean, consistent finish.
League or competition badges. Some leagues require specific badges or patches, which need to be factored into the design layout alongside the club’s own branding.
How Football Kit Personalisation Works
- Confirm the base kit. Shirts, shorts, and socks in the club’s chosen colours and style.
- Provide crest and sponsor artwork. A vector file of the crest gives the cleanest result, though most printers can recreate a crest from a clear photo if the original file has been lost, which happens more often than clubs expect.
- Submit the squad list. Names and numbers for every player, ideally checked twice before submitting, since a misspelled name on a printed shirt usually means a reprint.
- Approve a layout proof. This should show exactly how the crest, sponsor, and numbering will sit together on the finished shirt before the full run goes ahead.
- Production and collection or delivery, timed ahead of the season start or a specific fixture if there is a deadline to meet.
Printing Methods Used for Football Kit
Screen printing suits the crest and sponsor elements well, particularly when the design uses a small number of solid colours and the full squad needs matching, consistent branding.
Vinyl transfer is the standard for names and numbers, since it produces sharp, clean edges on text and numerals that hold up to the repeated washing football kit goes through across a season.
DTG printing is sometimes used for smaller runs or more detailed crest designs with several colours or fine detail, though it is less common for full squad kit runs compared to screen printing and vinyl.
Grassroots, Youth, and Adult Club Considerations
Grassroots and youth clubs often work with tighter budgets and more variable squad sizes than adult or semi professional teams, since junior squads can change significantly between seasons as players move up age groups. It is worth discussing with your printer how squad list changes are handled between the initial order and the season actually starting, since junior football in particular tends to see late squad confirmations right up until registration deadlines.
Youth clubs should also flag any specific requirements from their league or the Kent County Football Association, since some competitions have their own rules around kit design, sponsor visibility, or squad number ranges that need factoring into the initial design.
Training Kit vs Match Kit
Match shirts are almost always printed, for the reasons already covered. Training wear, tracksuits, and warm up jackets tend to be embroidered instead, since these items are washed far more often across a season than a match shirt and hold up better to that repeated washing when the branding is stitched in rather than printed on. Many clubs order both from the same supplier, which keeps the crest colour and design consistent across match day and training kit rather than risking a mismatch between two different suppliers. For a closer look at how training and match kit are typically split, our sportswear page covers the range of items clubs order together.
Common Mistakes Clubs Make
Submitting the squad list too late. Vinyl personalisation takes genuine production time, and a squad list submitted the week before the first fixture rarely leaves enough time for a proper proof and correction stage.
Sending a low quality crest image. A crest photographed off an old, faded shirt does not print or embroider cleanly. If the original artwork file has been lost, flag this early so it can be properly recreated rather than rushed at the last minute.
Not checking league rules on sponsor placement. Some competitions restrict sponsor size or placement, and it is far easier to check this before production than after a full squad kit has already been printed.
Assuming numbers can be added later without matching the original print. If numbers are added in a separate order to the original shirts, colour and font matching is not guaranteed unless the same supplier and same reference files are used.
Pro Tips for Club Committees
Keep your crest artwork file, along with a note of official club colours, somewhere the whole committee can access, not just with one individual. Clubs frequently lose track of their own artwork when the person who originally commissioned it steps down from a role.
Build in a buffer of two to three weeks between confirming your squad list and needing kit for the first fixture, particularly for junior clubs where squads can still shift close to the season start.
Order a small number of blank, unpersonalised shirts alongside your squad set. New signings mid season are common, and having a blank shirt ready to personalise quickly avoids delaying a new player’s involvement.
If your club has a limited budget, prioritise a well printed crest and clean numbering over an elaborate multi colour design. A simple, well executed kit photographs and wears better over a season than an overly complex one.
Working With Tshirtsareus for Football Kit
We supply printed match kit and embroidered training wear to grassroots, youth, and adult football clubs across Canterbury and the wider South East. Because we handle both processes in house, a club’s full range, match shirts, training tops, and any supporter merchandise, comes from one consistent source rather than being split across separate suppliers. Our t-shirts and hoodies printing covers the printing methods used for match kit in more detail, and our embroidery services page explains how training wear branding is typically handled instead.
Areas We Cover
We print football kit for clubs across Canterbury and East Kent, including Whitstable, Herne Bay, Faversham, Ashford, Sittingbourne, Dover, Margate, and Ramsgate, from our workshop at Lakesview International Business Park in Hersden. You can read reviews from local clubs and businesses we have worked with on our Google Business Profile.
The Sport England provides general guidance and funding information for grassroots sports clubs, which can be a useful reference point for committees managing kit budgets alongside wider club running costs.
Planning Kit Around the Football Calendar
Most clubs work to a predictable annual rhythm, and kit ordering benefits from being planned around it rather than left as an afterthought once training resumes. Pre season, typically late summer, is when most clubs finalise new kit, since it gives enough lead time before the first competitive fixture and avoids the general rush that hits printers across the whole grassroots season at once. Clubs that leave kit decisions until the first week of pre season training often find themselves competing for production slots with dozens of other local clubs doing exactly the same thing at the same time.
Mid season reorders are a different situation entirely, usually triggered by a new signing, a lost or damaged shirt, or a sponsor change partway through the year. It is worth asking your supplier directly how they handle these smaller, urgent requests, since a club’s experience with a printer is often defined more by how well mid season problems are handled than by how the original full kit order went.
Away Kit, Goalkeeper Kit, and Squad Variations
Larger or more established clubs often need more than a single kit design. Away kits typically use a contrasting colour scheme to the home kit, sometimes with entirely different sponsor placement if league rules require it. Goalkeeper kits are almost always a separate design and colour from outfield players, both for the traditional distinction and to meet most league requirements around goalkeeper visibility.
If your club runs multiple squads, first team, reserves, youth sections, it is worth deciding early whether each squad uses an identical design or a variation, such as a different sponsor or a subtle colour difference to distinguish sections of the club. Keeping this decision consistent and documented avoids confusion when different coaches or committee members place orders for different squads across the same season.
Managing Sponsor Relationships Through Kit
For many grassroots clubs, sponsor logos on kit are tied directly to a sponsorship agreement that helps fund the season. Getting sponsor placement right matters both for the sponsor’s satisfaction and for the club’s ongoing relationship with that funding source. It is worth confirming with sponsors directly whether they have existing brand guidelines, an approved logo file, or specific colour requirements, rather than assuming a logo found online or recreated from a business card is an accurate match. A sponsor who sees their logo reproduced poorly on a full season’s kit is understandably less likely to renew the following year, so treating this step with the same care as the club’s own crest is worth the extra time.
FAQ
Do you print football shirts?
Yes, football shirts and full sports kit are one of our most regular orders, covering grassroots, youth, and adult clubs across Kent.
Can you add sponsor logos to football kits?
Yes, sponsor logos are typically added alongside the club crest, usually via screen printing or heat pressed vinyl depending on the design.
How are squad numbers and names applied to shirts?
Squad numbers and player names are almost always applied using heat pressed vinyl, which gives a clean, durable finish that holds up well to regular match day washing.
Do you supply kit for grassroots and youth football clubs?
Yes, we regularly work with grassroots and youth clubs, and understand how squad lists can change closer to the season start for junior teams.
Where can football clubs in Kent get kit printed?
Tshirtsareus prints football kit for clubs across Canterbury and East Kent from our workshop in Hersden.
Can you match our exact club colours?
Yes, crest and kit colours are matched as closely as possible to your club’s official colour scheme, and we recommend keeping a written record of the references used for future seasons.
Final Thoughts
Football kit printing comes down to getting three things right: an accurate squad list, a genuine crest artwork file, and enough lead time before the season starts. Get those sorted early, and the rest of the process is usually straightforward, particularly when training wear and match kit both come from the same supplier.
If your club is planning new kit for the season ahead, it is worth starting the conversation early rather than waiting until pre season training is already underway.
Supporter Merchandise Alongside Club Kit
Beyond the playing squad, many clubs also want printed merchandise for supporters, families, and volunteers, casual t-shirts, hoodies, or scarves carrying the club crest without the full playing kit design. This is usually a simpler printing job than personalised squad kit, since there is no individual name or number variation involved, and it can often be produced alongside the main kit order or run as a separate batch closer to a specific match or event. Clubs looking to raise additional funds sometimes use supporter merchandise as a straightforward fundraising line, selling printed items at home fixtures or through a club shop, which is worth factoring into kit planning if fundraising is part of your club’s wider strategy for the season.
