Hummel has always been a cult favourite in the world of football kit manufacturers – and with good reason: they've come out with some truly incredible strips.
Founded by two German brothers in Hamburg in 1923, Hummel was taken over by a Dane in 1956 and been a Danish brand ever since, with headquarters in Aarhus.
The company still manufactures kits for many clubs today, including FC Köln, Saint-Étienne, Coventry City and of course, Denmark. In the past, Hummel have made kits for the likes of Real Madrid, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Red Star Belgrade and Benfica.
Among those, there have been some absolute classics and it was hard work whittling them down to just the 10 best, but FourFourTwo has managed to do just that, with some of the greatest football kits of all time on this list.
Let's dive straight in, shall we?
The 10 best Hummel football kits ever: 10. Real Madrid home 1988/89
It's hard to go wrong when your primary kit colour is plain old white – but Real Madrid strips have tended to look better with a splash of (another) colour added to them.
In the late 80s, that colour was purple, featuring on this slick-looking Hummel shirt which also had the brand's iconic chevron pattern woven throughout the fabric. Very nice.
9. Bristol City home 2023/24
Bristol City were given three exquisite football kits for the 2023/24 season: the third shirt was a bird-like two-tone grey with orange accents, while the away top was a classic white, with vertical lines of red and black down the chest.
But the home top? Beautiful. An Arsenal-esque red with white sleeves, Hummel kept their logo and chevrons red too, to draw attention to a stunning design. It's a shame that the partnership ended midseason.
8. Zanzibar home 2012
As part of Tanzania, Zanzibar is not allowed to be a FIFA member, but the island off Africa's east coast still competes in the CONIFA World Cup and its predecessor, the VIVA World Cup, for unaffiliated national teams.
In 2012, Zanzibar finished third at the latter tournament in Kurdistan while donning this stunningly unique kit trimmed with leopard print and adorned with a great big leopard's head.
7. Southend United home 2020/21
Southend United are based in the Essex town of Southend-on-Sea – and with their 2020/21 home shirt, it was a case of 'sea on Southend' as Hummel produced this quite literally wavy number.
Unfortunately for the Shrimpers, 2020/21 was also the season in which they waved goodbye to the Football League after 101 years, finishing second-bottom of League Two and suffering relegation to the National League.
6. Aston Villa home 1987-1989
Those stripes are back! And this time, they appear on possibly the greatest Aston Villa shirt of all time, worn by the West Midlands giants during the 1987/88 and 1988/89 campaigns.
During the first of those seasons, Graham Taylor's Villa earned immediate promotion back to the top flight, before surviving back in the First Division by finishing 17th.
5. Denmark goalkeeper 1992
One of the finest goalkeeping jerseys of all time, this vibrant piece was donned by Peter Schmeichel as Denmark wrote one of football's great underdog stories by winning Euro 92 having not initially qualified.
The rainbow-infused honeycomb design has been replicated by Hummel in the years since, but this iteration is the original and best.
4. Tottenham home 1985-1987
The 1986/87 season saw Tottenham enjoy one of their most successful campaigns of the decade, as they finished third in the First Division and reached the FA Cup final.
And Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles and co. did it while looking very stylish indeed, thanks to a glorious chevron-infused Hummel home shirt which ranks as one of the very best in their history.
3. Werder Bremen home 2023/24
Werder Bremen's 2023/24 home shirt became the club's best-selling in a decade – and we can see why. With their first kit for the Bundesliga outfit in 45 years, Hummel delivered an absolute beauty.
That template. That damned template. Is there a colour scheme that actually looks bad in it?
2. Coventry City third 2019/20
Coventry is home to the 1986/87 FA Cup winners and, away from football, it was home to legendary ska label 2 Tone Records – founded in 1979 by Jerry Dammers of the Specials.
The label became defunct in 1986, but Coventry City paid homage to the iconic musical institution on its 40th anniversary in 2019 by getting Hummel to rustle up this utterly majestic third strip – featuring 2 Tone logo mascot 'Walt Jabsco' on the back of the shirt.
1. Denmark home 1986
Here it is: the greatest Hummel football strip of all time – and one of the greatest football kits of all time by any brand, for that matter.
Founded in Germany but Danish-owned since 1956, Hummel kitted the Danish national team out in a jersey utilising that template which has been imitated many times over (as we've seen) but never quite replicated. A stunner.
Read more
Denmark's iconic Hummel kit from the 1980s is one of the best ever made – and certainly one the greatest international football kits of all time.
Also founded in Germany, Adidas have produced some special kits over the years as well. Here, a look at the best Adidas football kits ever made.
And then there's Nike, of course. Many of theirs have been memorable, too. Here's a look at the best Nike football kits ever made.
