ExiledAjax

I don't think any team would really need to alter their traditional home colours. In the UK/Ireland, off the top of my head, you've got just a few teams that wear truly green home colours. There is of course Plymouth Argyle (honestly I cannot imagine what their colourblind fans go through) and the Irish and N. Irish national teams. Celtic maybe, but the white hoops generally mean their kit is ok. Other than that you've got Sassuolo in Italy and I think that's it for major televised leagues.* To my mind very few other teams would need to make changes so long as everyone adopts a lighter colour (white, light blue, light grey, light pink) for one of either their away or 3rd kit. If they then use that light tone kit at appropriate points we should be able to avoid 99% of the problem kit blends. Even against the above mentioned teasm we would see an improvement, even if it remains mental that they use green at all. For our club I would humbly suggest that this would mean a red home kit, white away kit, and purple third kit. I can't really see an issue there so far as traditions go - at least in my lifetime we've mostly had white away kits, with a few black and then the odd weird one like that gold and dark blue job we had a while back. *Personally I also have issues with teams like Blackpool and Luton who favour orange. I don't see the red element of orange very well, and so those kits come across very washed out. Against a green pitch there are issues. However, on balance I suspect they are ok(ish), and they do clash well with most opposition kits - and that is the main issue here.

Absolutely, I've just always been pretty open about it with people. It's part of who I am, I live with it every day, and if anyone is interested I'll talk their ear off about it and answer any (respectful) questions. Kind of why I have started this thread (and others) to be honest, and am updating it regularly. If it isn't talked about then people won't realise its an issue, and, crucially, won't realise that it has a relatively simple solution. Maybe if you start moaning then someone will join in!? I'm coming tomorrow, would be happy to come and find you and start a moan if Forest turn out in their dark blue away kit. Honestly if Wez's tweets have ultimately ended with Bristol City's own kitman admitting to having issues with kit colours - well then I'll sleep happy tonight as that will surely mean that at least our Club starts to take this seriously.

So I was just looking around on twitter and saw this in response to this tweet, and in response to some of those from the SC&T (who have honestly been fantastic in their support). I cannot believe that Murray suffers and hasn't said anything before!!!

Appreciate a different viewpoint, but it doesn't need to be a case of everyone in white v colours, and I am respectful of traditional kits and am not advocating a US style "every away kit is white" solution. White v Black is probably the best contrast, but Red v Yellow, Black v Yellow, Bright Blue (think Birmingham or Chelsea) v Bright Red (Bristol City or Liverpool) or Blue v Yellow are also reliably good contrasts for 99% of people. The Euro final had its own issue as the referee's pink kit blended quite well with Italy's blue for some colourblind people.

Weirdly it looks like numbers and names are determined by the League itself rather than club by club. From the EFL regs: 33.16 The size, style, colour and design of shirt numbers and lettering appearing on a Player’s shirt and shorts shall be determined by The League from time to time. Note as well the following footnote to regulation 38.1 regarding the design of kits: When considering selection of colours of shirts / socks, Clubs should have regard to the guidance issued by the Football Association on helping those affected by colour blindness, a copy of which is available on the EFL SharePoint site accessed via the Club Portal system. This applies only to the design of kits, not to the choice of kits for a particular game. Regarding an actual game, reg 38.3 requires that When away from home a Club shall play in a registered kit which is clearly distinguishable (shirt, shorts and socks) from those of their opponents. This requirement shall apply strictly in respect of shirts and socks. Where both Clubs request to play in the same, or similar, coloured shorts then an application to do so shall be made to the appointed match referee whose consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Seems like the onus is on the match officials to sort out a potential kit blend on the day. So, again, the guidance is there. It just needs to be followed, and perhaps clarified a little!

In the Prem clubs submit kits to the league 2 weeks before a games. Then the kits are run through software that provides feedback to clubs. The colourblind awareness society was involved in setting that software up. However, the feedback is only advisory, and clubs are not obligated to follow it. I don't know what the precise procedure is at EFL level. I suspect it is similar but don't know for sure. You're right that there will be a number of opportunities to catch an issue though.

@Hamdon Mart very interesting to hear from someone that works in the industry and is directly affected. I've had some minor issues in my own job but I've not heard from someone in football before. Do your employers know about the issues? Do you know any colleagues that sometimes struggle? Is it something you'd even feel comfortable admitting to your employer? Ever had it mentioned by a player? Honestly I've got so many questions for you - please answer only those you are comfortable with, and of course DM if you don't want to answer on this thread. Have you had to deal with Man Utd's away kit this season? Dreadful thing. Can't imagine the sponsor is happy that their logo fades into the shirt for about 9% of the population! @Davefevs I think the American sports have it sorted as those leagues were created in the era of black and white TV as a TV product. In greyscale you have to have light v dark. Just look at the greyscale version of Wales v Ireland in @1960maaan's post above to see why green v red doesn't work. This was a decision driven by TV, and the side effect is that it's also pretty reliably good for those with colourblindness.

Honestly, if you haven't already then please do email the SC&T yourself. I suspect an email from someone without colourblindness could be worth 10 from those of us with it! You know the maddest thing...I'm not even sure which of those two pictures is supposed to be the "normal" one and which is showing you what colourblind people see!

Thing is I don't think it needs more rules. Legislation and further regulation should be the last resort, and personally I think the tools are already in place. We simply need clubs, leagues, and kit designers to be made aware of the existing FA and UEFA guidance, and then for them to implement it and bear it in mind when deciding on kit design and selection. Regarding Saturday's game: I don't think a green kit is ever wise, but if the marketing guys at Bournemouth want it then that's fine. But they should then consider the guidance and realise that the time to use that kit is against Fulham, Swansea, Derby, Coventry, or any other team that plays in white or lighter blue. To use it against teams that play in red is inconsiderate. This season I am seeing more fan pressure, and also some response from clubs (see the Huddersfield example above). I am hopeful. My greatest thanks is to someone like yourself who despite not being colourblind, has shown interest, support and compassion for those people who do. Thank you.

Yep I've been speaking to the SC&T and they've been very good at listening to the issues and taking them to the Club. If they can build a body of evidence then that will help persuade the Club to take more assertive action. I'd echo again the call for anyone reading this thread who has had issues this season, to just drop an email to them.

https://www.htafc.com/news/2021/september/kit-selections--colour-vision-deficiency/ Huddersfield made a change earlier this season after fans commented on bad kit choices in earlier games. It is possible to make intelligent decisions. I guess it will again be somewhat out of our hands which kit Forest go for on Tuesday. Hopefully they go for this third kit... ...rather than their away kit...which if used will cause issues for many fans.

Cheers Dave. The more people that email/tweet/shout about this to the Club and to @JerrySLO the better. I'm not seeking to whip up a crusade over it, I'm well conscious that there are others with far more serious issues, but this is appreciated. Thank you.

Thanks. This is a great post. The greyscale test is a really good way to tell if two kits could be problematic.

Yeh. I made the thread after a few pints last night and my anger was amplified by the ciders. It is mainly on Bournemouth. But it's also on the EFL who I believe sign off the kits a couple of weeks before each game. I also don't think it's beyond us to say to Bournemouth "hang on, why are you wearing green?". Maybe we did that, maybe we didn't, but I hope we did. It's interesting that this wasn't the worst blend for a lot of people. That does show that it's a tricky issue. However there are basic principles - such as using one dark and one light kit - that can really help. I was angry as well as I recently emailed the Club and SC&T and was told that the Club would be keeping colourindness in mind when sorting kits out. Yesterday's kits made me think this was perhaps a less than serious promise.

It's a terrible kit blend regardless of the result. Firstly Bournemouth shouldn't even have a green 3rd kit. No one should have a green kit. Secondly if they must have green...they should never wear it away to a team that plays in red. Thirdly, if they selfishly insist on doing so then we should change. Our new purple kit would have (just about) worked against this abhorrent green and black job. We could have worn that, and then when asked why on earth we wore our 3rd kit at home we could have highlighted the fact that Bournemouth stupidly have and wore a green kit - thus making the game very difficult to watch for the 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women who are colourblind. By the sounds of it yesterday's kit was a challenge even for those with 'normal' colour vision. I'd be saying the same if we'd won 5-0.

Yeh. I love it when teams double down on terrible colour choices. It lets me enjoy our home losses even more. It's ridiculous.

Red v green. 3rd time this season. Absolutely bloody genius. Well done to everyone involved in choosing the kit colours for today's match. Just the 1 in 12 blokes that might have been affected by this. Possibly 2 of our squad. **** the shorts, this is ******* awful. **** the swear filter as well. Bournemouth could have worn their white away kit, but nope obviously this was a top opportunity to break out the green 3rd kit. Against a red home kit. ******* cretins. @Blagdon red @JerrySLO whoever decides this crap doesn't actually give a shit do they.

The onus is of course on the away team to wear an appropriate kit. But if they don't (or won't) wear a kit that suitably clashes with our home red then we should consider wearing the purple. See our game away to Boro as an example. We wore black against their red. The two kits blended together and it was a poor watch, especially for those with colourblindness. This kit gives us an option, especially Boro's away kit is also black, and so the same issue will likely occur at AG when they visit.

We should use it against any team that wants to wear either red or black against us. So Bournemouth away yes (I assume they will wear their white away kit at AG tomorrow), probably Boro H, Barnsley H and A (unless they wear their white 3rd kit). If Hull, Forest, Sheffield Utd, or WBA wear their predominantly black away kits at AG then we should use this new one instead of our red kit. There's probably at least 7 or 8 games left where this kit could be useful.

Quite right. Given the number of poor kit blends we've already had this season it's good to have a third option. Hopefully it gets used in games where we have a bad match up. Imo the kit is ok. The central badge is bad, the sponsor of course is dire, and it looks like the naval flags are still wrong, but of the three shirts we have this term I think this is my favourite. Not a classic, but ok.

Name a better comeback. I'll wait.

Yeh that was "Harry's Heroes" iirc. Good show that struck a good balance between football nostalgia and exploring the issues that many men live with every day. The new show just highlights how the issues are ongoing.

The AndRenaissance.

I've just watched the documentary on the BBC with Paul Merson, in which he talks about and explores the effects of his gambling addiction on his, and others' lives. It's arresting, excellent, gentle, and concerning. Paul is very honest, and open, about the challenges he lives through daily. The program is here: Paul Merson: Football, Gambling & Me: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0010l43 A couple of supporting articles here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/sport/football/58859342.amp And here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11095/12431849/paul-merson-on-his-gambling-documentary-i-just-wanted-to-help-one-person If anyone is suffering in a similar way to Paul then please know that you're suffering isn't unique. Many others have sought and recieved help for this issue, and you can as well. The first thing is to talk. I've added this into this thread rather than start a new one as I expect that any new thread would swiftly descend into a circular discussion over the various merits of advertising various vices. By putting this into this thread I hope discussion can be limited to actually helping anyone that watches the show and sees something they recognise in themself.

Could someone kindly ask RG how the Club is working with the EFL, Sky, Hummel, and our opponents, to help ensure that the kits used in our matches are colourblind friendly.