Kaizer Chiefs will step into the 2015-16 season in an iconic new home kit that celebrates their 45th anniversary and heralds their illustrious history of winning the most league titles in South Africa.

As they embark on the defense of their premiership title, the team will wear a home jersey with broad gold and black stripes. The new design infuses the club’s legacy and spirit, reflecting almost half a century of prestige and success. A thin black ribbon is featured around the contemporary and lightweight crew neck collar, which sets off the gold shoulders and sleeves.

The team will have the option to wear the traditional Kaizer Chiefs black or gold home shorts, with gold socks completing the kit.

The new Kaizer Chiefs home kit is available for pre-sale via the Nike Football App and kaizerchiefs.com from July 17, and on sale in official retailers from July 23.

“In partnership with Nike, we’ve created a new kit that enhances our image. Our supporters will look stylish and our players have a kit that has the best technological advantages,” says Kaizer Chiefs Marketing Director Jessica Motaung. “We urge all our supporters to go out and purchase an authentic jersey and make sure they are branded in gold and black stripes when they attend our matches at home and away.”

While this new kit reflects the club’s heritage, it also benefits from Nike’s innovative technological advances, driving optimal performance and environmental sustainability.

GRAVITY-DEFYING CONSTRUCTION AND FIT

In the modern game each player now covers 17 percent more of the pitch than their predecessors five years ago, as well as making 37 percent more sprints during a game.

To meet the needs of this faster and more challenging game, Nike has designed an updated kit to enhance performance by allowing players to feel as light and agile as possible.

This new lightweight kit, with greater ventilation than ever before, was created to work with the body in football motion and encourage even more fluid movement.

By feeling as light, natural and comfortable as possible, and also eliminating any distractions, this newly constructed kit will both elevate the senses and give players absolute focus on their games. Players may feel as if they are flying across the pitch, and actually defying gravity.

For optimum ventilation, the new and improved fit of the shirt is firm and tight around the shoulders, and looser around the waist.

The shirt also boasts a new innovation this season. The sleeves are now constructed as a single panel across the shoulders to provide both a contemporary and a tighter look, with a stronger and more imposing presence on the pitch.

The shirt features Nike’s best-ever performance neckline, crafted to be almost unnoticeable for players.

NIKE DRI-FIT TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS INCREASED VENTILATION

Nike Dri-FIT technology draws sweat away from the body to the exterior of the jersey and short, where it quickly evaporates, keeping players cooler, drier and more comfortable.

Laser-cut ventilation holes and mesh panels in key areas are designed to improve performance by increasing air circulation and helping regulate body temperature.

The jersey features engineered mesh fabric in both its front and back panels to increase airflow and facilitate enhanced movement.

THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY KIT EVER

Nike places sustainable innovation at the heart of its kits through the use of recycled polyester, delivering unrivaled performance and lower environmental impact.

Each piece of the kit – shirt, shorts and socks – is constructed with recycled polyester, which is made from recycled plastic bottles melted down to produce a fine yarn then used to create the fabric. Each kit uses an average of 18 recycled plastic bottles. Since 2010, Nike has diverted more than two billion plastic bottles from landfills into recycled polyester – enough to cover about 3,500 football pitches.

By using recycled polyester, Nike is also reducing the energy consumed in the manufacturing process by up to 30 percent compared to virgin polyester. For more information, visit nikebetterworld.com.