Ever since the 90s, Nike football kits have been among the most widespread in the game, featuring at club and international level alike.
Nations such as Brazil have become synonymous with the Nike Swoosh adorning the chest of their kits, while clubs like Barcelona have been with the American brand for over 25 years. Along with Adidas, it's fair to say that Nike has achieved global dominance of football kits.
But while recent years have been a bit leaner when it comes to epic shirt releases - just one kit made our ranking of the best football kits of the 2020s - Nike has still released an incredible array of kits since first entering the football/soccer market in 1979, when it manufactured the Portland Timbers' jersey.
Here, we rank the very the best of them.
The best Nike football kits ever
Barcelona have opted for the half-and-half look rather than their usual stripes a few times over the years, but never have the results been more impressive than on their 1999/2000 home shirt.
The Catalan giants didn't win any trophies in their centenary season, but at least they celebrated the milestone in style in another sense.
Pep Guardiola captained the side in this kit, with Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo, Luis Enrique and a young Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez all pulling this iconic jersey on as well.
9. Boca Juniors home, 1996/97
Sponsors can ruin a look as utterly iconic as Boca Juniors' blue and yellow home strip – but that wasn't remotely the case here.
The logo of local brewery Quilmes only added to a shirt based on a gorgeous deep blue, which we dare say is even more aesthetically pleasing than the slightly more royal shade Boca usually sport.
An old and out-of-shape Diego Maradona managed just two games for Boca Juniors in 1996/97, but is undoubtedly the most-revered wearer of this shirt. Other notable names at Boca at the time include Juan Roman Riquelme and Claudio Caniggia.
8. Borussia Dortmund home, 1995/96
For much of the 90s, Borussia Dortmund weren't just the Black and Yellows; they were the Black and neon Yellows.
Nike did a fine job on several of the Bundesliga big boys' kits throughout the decade, but they produced their best work for the 1995/96 campaign – when BVB retained the German title.
Michael Zork scored a hat-full for Dortmund that term, with Patrik Berger, Steffen Freund and Matthias Sammer all a part of the title-winning squad, too.
7. Inter Milan away, 2007/08
Inter Milan turned 100 in 2008, and the Italian powerhouse celebrated with an away shirt nodding to the home strip worn by Societa Sportiva Ambrosiana – the short-lived merger between Inter and US Milanese back in 1928.
The 2007/08 campaign saw the Nerazzurri (or the Biancorossi, as they would have been on the road that term) win their third of five straight Serie A titles.
Roberto Mancini managed them to that success in 2008, with a stacked squad containing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Adriano, Hernan Crespo, Dejan Stankovic, Luis Figo, Patrick Vieira, Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti and Maicon dominating Serie A.
6. Croatia home, Euro 2016
Croatia's unique red and white checkerboard shirts are among the great aesthetic delights of football, and they looked even more resplendent than usual at Euro 2016.
Appearing to imitate a waving flag, this strip was worn by Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and co. as they reached the last 16 of the tournament in France.
5. Netherlands home, Euro 2024
Arguably the best of the bunch among a breath-taking crop of kits released in the run-up to Euro 2024, the Netherlands' effort was somehow more orange than ever.
Piped with dark blue and featuring a silver-based crest, it ensured the Dutch look quite dashing as they aimed to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time since 1988. Alas, a semi-final defeat to England means that wait for a trophy will continue, but at least Xavi Simons dazzled and Cody Gakpo found the net on a consistent basis in thei kit nonetheless.
4. Portugal away, Euro 2012
In 2016, Portugal won the Euros; four years earlier, they won best kit of the Euros (in FFT's eyes as UEFA have, unfathomably, never given out such an award).
Incorporating the two main colours of the Portuguese flag into a great big cross which dominates the shirt, this away strip worn by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe was an absolute masterpiece.
3. Arsenal away, 1995/96
Arsenal had a couple of cracking away kits during the 90s, one of them being their final change strip of the pre-Arsene Wenger era.
It wasn’t a memorable season for the Gunners – who, under Bruce Rioch, finished fifth in the Premier League and exited the FA Cup at the third-round stage – but this shirt was really… striking (geddit?).
It's the first away kit Dennis Bergkamp would have worn for Arsenal, too - helping the Dutchman look even more mesmeric and graceful while on the ball.
2. Norway away, 2020-2021
We didn't need this veritably icy kit to remind us that it can get pretty cold in Norway (ok, very cold), but we're sure glad Nike made it – because it's just extremely *don't say it* it's just extremely c- *don't say it* it's just extremely COOL.
Worn by a young Erling Haaland, among others, it's a shame it was 'only' Norway's away kit and not their home.
1. Nigeria home, 2018 World Cup
For the 2018 World Cup, Nike went firmly retro with Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup home shirt – and it proved to be a global sensation, selling out far beyond Africa’s most populous nation.
The Super Eagles only got to wear it once at the tournament in Russia, but thousands (millions?) around the world – whether football fans or not – were desperate to cop one of these.
And while Nigeria may have failed to reach the knockout stages of the tournament, Ahmed Musa's brace against Iceland in the groups never looked better while wearing this pearler of a kit.
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