JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Armada FC, Jacksonville's professional North American Soccer League team, today revealed the club's new uniform (soccer kit) for the fall 2015 and full 2016 seasons.
In the NASL's fall season, which kicks off on July 5, Armada FC players will be wearing three new uniforms: a home, away and alternate. Team owner Mark Frisch worked directly with Nike to develop the customized looks.
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"As we entered the fall NASL season, we had the opportunity to work with Nike to create a kit with even more performance-enhancing features, as well as a more customized look to greater reflect the identity the club has developed throughout our inaugural spring season," said Frisch. "This was something that I wanted to do for our players to recognize the unprecedented work they put into our successful, strong first season."
The 2015/2016 Armada FC kit reflects the direction fans gave the club in selecting the team colors, incorporating the navy blue, white and gold colors the fans chose for the Armada FC's logo and patch.
In a nod to the region's strong military ties, the customized uniforms feature a strong and progressive look with clean lines inspired by the local military presence. All of the uniforms showcase the individual colors of the Armada FC logo in prominent stripes across the chest. Similar to medals on military uniforms, the Armada FC badge is worn with pride over the heart.
The home uniform features a blue stripe across the top to represent the St. Johns River that runs through the heart of Jacksonville and is so closely linked with the region's identity. This is paired with the Armada's white and gold to complete the jersey. The away uniform is comprised primarily of white to closely resemble the dress uniforms of the United States Navy. The alternate uniform incorporates more of the gold from the Armada FC logo as its base color and features the blue color block across the chest. The goalkeeper kit will feature all gold, all purple and all green options.
On the back of all uniforms, there is an anchor positioned between the shoulder blades, representing the club's commitment to anchor the team and soccer deeply with the Jacksonville and regional community.
From a performance standpoint, all uniforms will feature Nike Dri-Fit technology, the most advanced materials for better performance, a lighter and stronger fabric that allows for more free body movement and fuller range of motion with additional laser cut holes for added temperature control.
Jacksonville-based grocer Winn-Dixie continues as the primary jersey sponsor, positioned front and center on all Armada FC uniforms.
"We appreciate Winn-Dixie's incredible vision and support," said Armada FC President Steve Livingstone. "Their continued sponsorship is a testament to the success of the Armada FC's inaugural season, and we anticipate it will continue to bring strong returns as we play matches and reach audiences not only in Jacksonville but also in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, New York, Raleigh, San Antonio, Minneapolis and Indianapolis, and Ottawa and Edmonton in Canada."
The new Armada FC jerseys will be available online for purchase immediately at WeGotSoccer.com, armadafc.com and locally at Soccer Stop. The initial offering of named player jerseys will be of Armada fan favorites Matt Bahner, Marcos Flores, Bochy Hoyos, Jemal Johnson and Alhassane Keita.
"It has been our long-term goal to produce a unique and full-customized kit for the Armada FC," said Livingstone. "The reception we received from our fans for our inaugural uniform was overwhelming and the demand for our replica jerseys far exceeded our supply. In order not to leave fans disappointed, we have made the decision, supported by Nike, to accelerate the launch of our customized 2016 season kit, which will now be worn and available during the fall 2015 season."
"We will no longer be manufacturing the 2015 inaugural replica, which will now effectively become a valuable 'collector's item' for our fans who supported us initially in purchasing the shirt. In addition, we'll be offering all of our season ticket owners a 30 percent discount through July 4 on the purchase of the new 2015/2016 kit. This kit will remain in place, and will be worn by our team throughout the fall 2015 and full 2016 seasons and will be available in all sizes."
In addition to the Armada first team wearing the new uniform, one of the Armada FC's youth soccer partners, Jacksonville FC, will also outfit its Boys U14 DA team and JFC U12-U18 Elite level teams with the new kits. The Armada FC and JFC entered into a partnership earlier this season to being the support and development of a USSF Development Academy.
The Armada FC return to action when they host world-renowned Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors in an international friendly at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 at EverBank Field. This match will mark the last time the Armada FC will sport their inaugural uniforms.
The club will wear the new uniforms for the first time when the Armada's NASL fall season kicks off Sunday, July 5, with three away games before returning to Jacksonville's Community First Park at 7:30 p.m. for the home debut of the new kit on Saturday, July 18 in a much-anticipated rematch with NASL spring season champions New York Cosmos.