A club kit is doing more than filling a changing-room rail. It has to survive training, travel, wet touchlines, repeat washes and the occasional last-minute player added to the squad. Custom sportswear for clubs needs to look united, feel right in play and be straightforward to reorder when the season is already under way.
Whether you run a Sunday football side, a netball team, a school sports club or a growing fitness group, the best result starts with a practical choice of garment and decoration method. Get those two things right before approving the artwork, and your kit will work harder for every player.
Start with how your club actually uses its kit
A match shirt and a warm-up hoodie have different jobs. A lightweight performance T-shirt may be right for runners, footballers and gym teams that need breathable fabric. A heavier sweatshirt or jacket suits coaches, substitutes and travelling squads who spend time on the side-line. Polo shirts can be the smarter option for staff, committee members and presentation days.
Think about the full kit rather than only the top. Clubs often need training tees, match jerseys, shorts, socks, quarter-zips, tracksuits, rain jackets and kit bags. Ordering a coordinated range makes the club instantly recognisable, but it also gives players useful options across the year.
Fabric matters. Technical polyester is popular because it is light, quick-drying and suited to active wear. Cotton feels familiar and is often a good fit for supporters’ merchandise, casual training or post-match wear, but it can hold moisture during high-intensity sessions. Blended garments sit between the two, offering durability with a softer hand feel. There is no single best choice – it depends on the sport, the weather and how hard the garment will be used.
Custom sportswear for clubs: choose decoration that lasts
Your crest, sponsor logo and player details need to suit both the garment and the order size. A sharp design file helps, but print method is just as important. It affects the finish, colour reproduction, setup time and price.
For full-colour badges, detailed sponsor artwork and short runs, DTF printing is a flexible choice. It works across many garment types and produces strong colour on both light and dark fabrics. It is particularly useful when a club needs a small batch of extra shirts without the cost and delay of a large setup.
Screen printing is often a smart commercial option for larger orders with bold, simple artwork. The print is durable and gives a clean, professional finish, especially for one or two-colour designs. It is less economical for a handful of garments or artwork with lots of colours, because each colour needs preparation.
Sublimation is ideal for certain polyester performance garments, especially where the design covers a large area or needs to become part of the fabric. It allows vivid all-over colour without adding a heavy layer on top. The trade-off is that it works best on suitable light-coloured polyester garments, so it is not the answer for every club kit.
Embroidery brings texture and a premium finish to polos, caps, hoodies, jackets and teamwear off the pitch. A compact club crest can look excellent stitched on the chest. Fine lettering and highly detailed artwork may need simplifying, however, as thread cannot reproduce every tiny line in the way a print can.
Names and squad numbers are usually handled separately from the main logo. Make sure the font, height and placement are agreed before production starts. A number that looks right on an adult large can appear oversized on a child’s shirt, while a long surname needs more careful sizing than a three-letter name.
Make the design visible from the touchline
A good kit design does not have to be complicated. In fact, the strongest club branding is usually easy to read at a distance. Start with the crest, then establish where the sponsor, player name and number will sit. Keep enough clear space around each element so the shirt does not look crowded.
Chest placement is standard for a club badge, while a larger sponsor print often goes across the front. Upper-back placement can work well for a second sponsor, with names and numbers below. Sleeve prints are useful for a small sponsor, league identity or campaign message, provided the garment has enough printable space.
Ask for artwork in the best format you have. Vector files such as AI, EPS, SVG or print-ready PDF files are normally best for logos because they can be scaled cleanly. A high-resolution PNG can also work for many designs. Screenshots, blurred social media images and tiny web logos are more likely to slow down approval or produce a poor result when enlarged.
Colour matching deserves attention too. A club may have an established red, blue or green that supporters recognise immediately. Printed colours can look different depending on fabric, garment shade and finish, so it is worth confirming the intended shade before committing to a bulk order. If exact brand colour is critical, say so at the quote stage.
Get sizing and quantities right before production
The fastest way to create an expensive kit problem is to guess sizes. Collect each player’s size directly where possible, and use the garment’s actual size guide rather than assuming all brands fit alike. A medium performance shirt can fit very differently from a medium cotton hoodie.
For a new squad, order a small number of spare shirts in common sizes if the budget allows. New players join, shirts go missing and a muddy winter fixture can make a clean backup essential. If you expect reorders, keep the garment style, colour, print placement and artwork on record. Consistency makes later additions much easier.
Junior teams need extra care. Check whether sizes are based on age, chest measurement or garment dimensions, and leave room for movement. Parents may be tempted to size up for growth, but an overly loose shirt can be uncomfortable in play and make printed numbers sit in the wrong place.
No minimum orders are valuable here. A club should not have to wait until it has ten replacement shirts to reorder one goalkeeper top, a new captain’s polo or a single jacket for a coach. Equally, a large bulk order can be planned for a full squad, supporter range or tournament weekend.
Plan around your fixture list, not after it
Kit deadlines are real. League registration, cup finals, charity tournaments, school sports days and sponsor launches all come with fixed dates. Place the order as soon as the garment choice and artwork are confirmed, particularly for busy periods and specialist items.
Same-day or next-day production can be a lifesaver when stock is available and the artwork is ready to print, but it is not a substitute for good planning. Embroidery, complex designs, large quantities and garments that need to be sourced can require more time. Be clear about the date you need the order, whether you need delivery or collection, and whether every garment requires individual names and numbers.
A single, accurate order sheet avoids confusion. It should show the garment, colour, size, quantity, print positions, squad names and numbers, plus any separate staff or supporter items. Check spellings carefully. “Harris” becoming “Harries” is a small typo until it is printed across the back of a shirt.
Build a kit system your club can keep using
The cheapest shirt is not always the best value if it fades quickly, feels uncomfortable or cannot be matched later. Choose a range that the club can reorder, then set simple rules for crests, sponsor placement and number style. This gives the team a consistent identity without forcing the organiser to start again every season.
It also helps to separate essential match kit from optional extras. Players may need a required jersey and shorts, while hoodies, jackets, caps and supporter tees can be ordered separately. That keeps the core order manageable and lets members buy the extras they genuinely want.
East London Printers can produce one-off replacements, complete squad orders and branded clubwear with DTF, screen printing, sublimation, heat transfer, vinyl and embroidery available under one roof. Send over your artwork, quantities and deadline for a fast quote, then get your club looking ready for the next fixture – not the one after it.