The West Ham United supporters are riding on a major high after watching their club pull off an impressive feat of winning the UEFA Europa Conference League, with some already scrambling to get their hands on next season’s kit.
Indeed, the prospect of customizing the 2023/24 kit with something like the word ‘European Champion’ or getting a customized gold badge is definitely exciting for the Hammers – who saw their multi-decade-long trophy drought finally ended last season.
Unlike a number of their Premier League rivals, West Ham are yet to unveil their home kit for the 2023/24 season. The club are still probably reeling from the celebrations of winning the Europa Conference League and are finalizing all the details with Umbro before they release the new kit.
West Ham kit with bubbles pattern leaks online
Usually, the Hammers end up releasing their home kit before the end of the season – but that probably couldn’t happen because of how chaotic the 2022/23 season really was for them. Umbro also appears to be taking its time with it to come up with an ideal kit that can please the fans and be a fitting one for the European champions.
Amid all this, pictures have started circulating on social media of an apparent leak of West Ham’s home kit for the next season.
The kit has the iconic blue and maroon colours of the club, but it seems to have slightly changed the style from the round-neck pattern from the previous season to having a more curved style around the neck area in this leaked one.
The most prominent thing that has caught the attention of a lot of West Ham fans is the discreet bubble pattern in this kit. If you take a closer look at the maroon part of the kit, small bubbles appear to be blended into the kit all over.
There is a more updated version of this bubble design attire that has been circulating the Irons’ fanbase recently. This picture gives a more glaring look at the entire kit, which shows that there are plans to pair the jersey with maroon shorts.
Along with West Ham’s traditional colours, the bubbles are blended into the maroon colour with white round-shape frames all over the kit to ensure that the bubble pattern is quite visible from a distance as well. With that being said, a lot of Hammers’ fans seem quite disgusted by this design because of its awkward presentation.
Similarities to 1995 bubbles kits
This design is actually similar to the kit that West Ham wore in 1995, which was their centenary year. The 1995/96 season’s attire also had little spots of bubbles inserted in the maroon part and even had a collar in the neck region.
That is actually a popular kit among the West Ham faithful and is still being sold for those who are really into vintage football kits. Even the away kit in the 1995/96 season for the Hammers had the bubble pattern, that is because the club shares a special history when it comes to bubbles.
For fans watching their home matches, the sight of a lot of fans blowing bubbles all around the London Stadium has become a memorable sight over many years. The club’s supporters also love singing the chant ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’, which has become their club anthem over the years.
The song actually debuted at a Broadway show way back in 1918, and the Irons’ supporters fell in love with it instantly. Soon after that, they made the song their own – making some slight adjustments to it to fit their club’s identity in it too.
The truth behind the leaked 23/24 home kit
With that being said, it’s still not actually confirmed that the 23/24 West Ham home kit will feature the beloved bubble pattern in it. This is because the pictures that are circulating claiming to be a leaked version of the Hammers’ home attire are not an actual leak, but a prediction.
This design of a possible bubble pattern being implemented for West Ham’s next home kit was a prediction made by FootyHeadlines – a website that has gained a lot of fame for leaking football kits over the years.
This particular design, however, was not a genuine leak that they managed to take a snap of and give a preview of what the fans can expect. This is a predicted design created by their own team, speculating what Umbro might want to go with for the upcoming campaign.
For the time being, neither West Ham nor their shirt manufacturers have confirmed when they plan on releasing the kits for the next season. They should, however, release it before the start of their pre-season campaign in July – with the Hammers kicking off their pre-season schedule with a friendly against Boreham Wood on July 10.
Whether or not their home kit really has that sweet little bubble design – which pays homage to the club’s special identity – remains to be seen.
Tell me when West Ham have ever usually released their kit before the end of the previous season.
Just for proper reporting purposes, West Ham have never played in maroon! West Ham colours are CLARET and sky blue. Always have and always will be.