The Impact of Kit Colors on Athletic Performance, Switching from Red to Grey
The Premier League season is underway, and while the focus is typically on the players' skills and the teams' strategies, the colour of their kits is a lesser-discussed yet significant factor.
In elite sport, where the margin between success and failure is fine, kit colour is an area that should not be overlooked. Colour is linked to psychology, perception, and physics, and the right shade can make a player unmissable, while the wrong one can make them disappear.
Scientific studies suggest that wearing red can boost feelings of dominance and aggression and that opponents perceive players in red as more threatening. This has been linked to better outcomes in various sports, including soccer, with red kits associated historically with more Premier League championships. However, this advantage is usually seen in home kits where tradition plays a stronger role.
Away kits face practical challenges as well. Colours like gray, black, or even green can blend with the environment or the pitch, reducing players’ ability to see teammates clearly and thus hindering performance. For example, Manchester United's grey away kit in 1996 caused visibility problems and was scrapped after poor performance. Similarly, black or brown kits risk blending into stadium backgrounds or shadows, which could impair coordination on the field.
The avoidance of red for away kits is mainly due to commercial reasons, visibility concerns, tradition, and design diversity. Novelty colors drive sales and brand differentiation, and clubs often want varied away kits to appeal to fans and media attention.
Despite scientific evidence that red can give a performance advantage, Premier League clubs often avoid choosing red for away kits. This is because away kits prioritize commercial appeal, novelty, and visibility rather than just performance benefits.
However, the effects of red kits leading to greater success have been shown in other sports such as Rugby League and esports. The gold colour selected by Crystal Palace offers high visibility under both daylight and flood lights, providing an alternative to the traditional red while maintaining visibility.
On the other hand, the new brown away kit of Brentford could potentially face a similar issue, especially in overcast conditions or with concrete-backed stands. Newcastle's green away kit, while bright, is likely to merge with the turf, particularly in players' peripheral awareness where the human visual system is not designed to see colours clearly.
Taekwondo referees award more points to fighters in red than blue, even when the fight is digitally manipulated to reverse the colours. This perception of red as a sign of dominance and aggression is rooted in both cultural and biological perspectives.
In conclusion, while the choice of kit colour may seem trivial, it plays a crucial role in the performance of teams on the pitch. As the Premier League season unfolds, keep an eye on the kits, and you might just find a hidden factor influencing the outcome of the games.
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