KITS KITS KITS
SHAKHTAR DONETSK
Shakhtar seem to be keeping last season’s home strip for another season. This seems to be for the best, as last year’s kit looks great and the Nike templates for the coming season look very plain and ordinary. Moving onto the newly released away kit, Nike has adopted a ‘minimalist’ approach. The beige base with subtle stripes is supposedly meant to be inspired by the dust found inside coal mines, as an ode to the history of Shakhtar as their nickname ‘The Miners’ suggests. Overall, the Donbas side’s home colours impress but the away kit leaves much to be desired.
Shakhtar Home: 8 / 10
Shakhtar Away: 5 / 10
DYNAMO KYIV
Dynamo Kyiv have started the new season with a new kit supplier. New Balance takes over from Adidas after their partnership, spanning over two decades, comes to an end. However, after the unique designs of last season, the new strips seem very underwhelming. The home kit is very basic and seems to be straight out of a team wear catalogue. However, with the sponsor, the strip looks considerably better. Collars should be left for school PE kits and rugby teams. Unfortunately, New Balance didn’t get this memo and have added a collar to the away jersey. It makes the kit look quite dated but not in a good way. Hopefully NB will pull their finger out next season and employ more competent design and market research teams.
Dynamo Home: 5 / 10
Dynamo Away: 3 / 10
VORSKLA POLTAVA
Last season’s bronze medallists, Vorskla have unveiled some nice, simplistic kits. Whilst the same Adidas template is being used across Europe, for many club and national team away strips such as Belgium and Sweden, they still look quite clean and fresh. Whilst researching for this article, it was pleasing to see how efficient, up to date and easy to navigate the Vorskla website was. Hats off to them. The home kit whilst just plain white, still looks a lot classier than Dynamo’s. The away kit is a direct replica of the new Watford away strip, whilst slightly underwhelming for an English Premier side, it’s perfectly adequate for Vorskla who have a considerably smaller worldwide reach.
Vorskla Home: 7 / 10
Vorskla Away: 6 / 10
ZORYA LUHANSK
Zorya Luhansk have also got a generic strip for the coming season. They debuted their home strip in their UPL opener against Mariupol. The shirt was missing a sponsor and as a result looked very basic. Last year’s strips with alternately coloured sleeves and shoulder region have been massively downgraded. Once Zorya kick off their European campaign in a couple of weeks, it would be hoped for the sponsorship issue to be rectified. News on the away kit, is so far non existent. Zorya doesn’t seem to do big kit reveals, leaving an element of surprise until the team shows up on the pitch in a new jersey. The side played in a very old black strip during the pre season but this is unlikely to be used in competitive games. Judging from the past few seasons, the away strip will most likely be exactly the same as the home but in a black variation.
Zorya Home: 4 / 10
Zorya Away: TBC
OLIMPIK DONETSK
As far as available information goes, Olimpik Donetsk seem to be recycling their kits from the 2017/18 campaign for another year. Only this time they have a new sponsor, in the form of a Kyiv based supermarket with a bee as its mascot. This sponsor doesn’t really compliment the already simple strip. The Joma kits are also very simple and they look neither terrible nor do they excite. Having scoured the Olimpik social media channels, they seem to have played their pre season games under a number of different outdated kits and have even unveiled summer transfers holding a different white away shirt. So it would not be surprising if a kit change occurred again at some point during the duration of the season.
Olimpik Home: 4 / 10
Olimpik Away: 4 / 10
FC LVIV
FC Lviv’s kit partner is Legea, the Italian brand, known for its designs to resonate more with the nineties and early noughties, than with the present day. However, whilst the FC Lviv home strip, which they have carried on over from their last season in the Druha Liha, screams out “Eastern Europe” with its centred badge and chevron design, the away kit is something spectacular. Arguably the best strip in the entire UPL this season, the FC Lviv away shirt looks stunning. The navy top melting into a lighter shade looks really slick and professional, the sponsor compliments the shirt well and the badge is rightfully on the left hand side of the chest. Like Veres’ black away strip from last season with silver accents, FC Lviv take over with another strong kit of the season contender.
FC Lviv Home: 5.5 / 10
FC Lviv Away: 9 / 10
ARSENAL KYIV
Arsenal Kyiv have matched their new Italian manager with an Italian company branded kit. Zeus Sports, a relatively unknown kit supplier are the new manufacturers of the Arsenal Kyiv home and away jerseys. Both home and away strips seem to be relatively basic, reminiscent of Sunday League sides. Attempting to figure out which strip is which and whether the white variant is actually the away kit has been a difficult task. Throughout preseason, Arsenal have played in old Nike jerseys and in the white Zeus attire. So a possibility still remains of it changing altogether to a different Zeus option. Additionally, it seems that Arsenal have yet to secure themselves a sponsor as well, having played FC Lviv without one.
Arsenal Home: 4 / 10
Arsenal Away: 4/10
OLEKSANDRIYA
Oleksandriya’s new bold yellow home kit looks smooth. Almost entirely yellow with black accents and black shorts, Oleksandriya continue to see out their seasons with relatively indifferent kits. They just keep updating them to newer version specifications. With a secure sponsor, that matches the kits colours, the overall design is very sleek and cool. As of yet no information can be obtained as to what the away kits will be, but judging from previous seasons, it will most probably use the same template as the new home version. A black kit and a green kit will most probably be used as the alternatives to the yellow. It is also within possibility that Oleksandriya carry over their away and third kits over from last season.
Oleksandriya Home: 7 / 10
Oleksandriya Away: TBC
KARPATY LVIV
Karpaty Lviv maintain all three kits that they released last season, only changing their sponsor from Zik TV to Marathon Bet. Overall the kits are quite bespoke and unique, with the green home carrying a traditional Ukrainian embroidery pattern, whilst the white away features some well known Lviv sights on its abdominal region. Joma seems to be a temperamental brand that can pull its finger out when its comes to design but only when it wants to. The Ukrainian National Team also has a bold and unique Joma home and away strip combination.
Karpaty Home: 8 / 10
Karpaty Away: 7 / 10
CHORNOMORETS ODESA
Legea is the official supplier of not one but two UPL teams. Chornomorets have begun the new season wearing last season’s home shirt. It it thus fairly reasonable to deduce that they will be continuing in it for the duration. Black and navy hoops make up the home strip whilst the away is white with two black and navy stripes protruding from the bottom and top. The Legea logo of a man kicking seems to be out of place. The strips would benefit from the Legea text logo instead. Overall, these kits are underwhelming. But this is not surprising for a side which had been relegated last season, miraculously returned and along with other clubs in the UPL is increasingly cash strapped.
Chornomorets Home: 5 / 10
Chornomorets Away: 4 / 10
MARIUPOL
Mariupol are yet another club which has decided to continue with old kits for another season. Despite this, the kits do look relatively good. The dark navy home strip is smart, whilst the sponsor makes it slightly more exciting. On the other hand, the away kit is quite loud. Also a Manchester City third kit from a couple of seasons ago, the orange and purple works well with the FC Mariupol badge colours.
Mariupol Home: 7 / 10
Mariupol Away: 6 / 10
DESNA CHERNIHIV
Newly promoted Desna are battling it out with FC Lviv for the best looking kit of the season. Desna’s white home kit with fading upward stripes looks superb. It is simple but it very much works. The away kit, copies the same design as the home but with instead has a dark navy base and lighter blue fading stripes. The away kit really is outstanding. However, as the FC Lviv away kit is the complete package with a complimenting sponsor and a more striking badge, FC Lviv just edges it.
Desna Home: 8 / 10
Desna Away: 8.5 / 10
ZORYA LONDONSK 