Nick Thurston estimates that it takes “anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes” to determine which kits each team will wear in a given FIFA World Cup™ match. The decision is significant. The selections made by FIFA’s Senior Competition Manager and his FIFA Competition Management and FIFA Referee colleagues help define how participants and officials (both on and off the pitch) experience and navigate the game. A player has to be certain he is spotting a teammate when detecting an ephemeral blur of colour out of the corner of his eye. A referee must be able to instantly distinguish between differing pairs of socks when opponents contest a loose ball near the touchline. Just as vitally, the kit selection also impacts the game’s presentation to stadium spectators and viewers around the world. Broadcasters commentating from the upper tiers of the stadium and passionate fans seated in the last rows have to discern who’s who in real time. Other considerations are colour blindness or vision deficiency. In-stadium technology like automated offside, tracking cameras and VAR also have to work seamlessly when it is necessary to differentiate between the teams. In addition to these practical applications, there are heritage, cultural and marketing considerations. Colours matter deeply to nations, supporters, football kit aficionados, manufacturers and merchandisers.

The kit assignment process is both art and science. It often reverberates across blogs and social media, and it can echo through football history as a match is photographed, preserved and replayed. With so much at stake, a 15-minute process might seem insufficient. But it takes so little time – which is important as advancing nations prepare quickly for knockout stage matches – because it is underpinned by carefully constructed equipment and tournament regulations and then more than a year of meticulous work and preparation. Thurston and company are well drilled and well prepared for those 15 minutes. The build-up to the first 48-team FIFA World Cup began in earnest around 18 months ago, when the FIFA Equipment Working Group (FEWG) began reviewing proposed kit designs with the major manufacturers.

“Effectively for the (FIFA) World Cup 2026 our preparations actually began about a year and a half ago in considering early-stage kit designs and alignment in the regulations and clarification of design intent with some manufacturers,” Thurston said. The reviews focus on primary and alternate colour combinations and design elements, as well as regulations that govern sizing of team and manufacturer emblems, along with the fonts and designs of the names and numbers. The FEWG is comprised of representatives from FIFA Competition Management, FIFA Partnership Rights Delivery and the FIFA Legal departments. Thurston, a New Zealander, has been working on FIFA Tournaments since 2008 and joined the organisation full-time in Zurich, Switzerland in 2021. When it is time to determine the specific kit allocations on a match-by-match basis during the tournament, Thurston works alongside Competition Management colleagues and representatives from FIFA’s Refereeing group.

In November 2025, FIFA sent a letter to the qualified countries (and those still competing for a berth) requesting a formal registration of team colours: first-choice and alternate kits, third kits if desired, and a minimum of three goalkeeper options. There must be one clear “dark” kit and another obvious “light” kit. Each team then sends FIFA physical samples of their equipment, which are laid out for inspection and photographed. The FEWG also takes note of potential issues, like whether shorts and socks could be interchangeable, font readability, or if there’s a potential shirt or kit combination within the match schedule that might require additional scrutiny. One example of the latter at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ is Croatia’s famous red-and-white checkerboard shirt. In the past, there was enough white on the jersey to consider it the “light” option. For example, they wore it in the FIFA World Cup 2018™ final against France, who were in all blue. “The design for 2026 has evolved and is a lot different than previously,” Thurston said. “This time the squares on their shirt are smaller and overall the shirt is considered predominantly red, because it's more pixelated in that sense.”

So when Croatia was matched up with Portugal in the round of 32, Thurston and the group were prepared. Portugal’s deep red first-choice uniform would clash with Croatia’s “pixelated” checkerboard. FIFA tries to avoid red v blue match-ups when possible, because both are considered “dark” colours in deference to viewers with colour vision deficiency. So that knockout match in Toronto, Canada featured both teams in their alternate kits – white with teal accents for Portugal and dark blue for Croatia. Portugal’s dramatic 2-1 win was a rare example of a match in which neither team wears their first-choice kit. For each FIFA World Cup game, one nation is identified within the match schedule as ‘Team A’ and the other ‘Team B’. That designation, along with the first-choice and alternate kit submissions from the Participating Member Associations (PMAs), represents the framework around which the match colour designations are determined.

“The process is to assign the outfield players for Team A as the first step, the outfield players for Team B second, the goalkeeper for Team A third, the goalkeeper for the team B fourth, and then the referee,” Thurston explained. But often, as with the Portugal v Croatia match, complexities arise. “The process itself is ultimately reiterative. It’s not just a single walkthrough,” Thurston continued. “If we get to the end and the optimal colours are not there, we revisit it again, and can ultimately be based on what is actually available.” That is because on occasions, the kit assignments do not always depend only on team designations and contrast. ‘Team A’ may be required to veer slightly from their preferred choice because ‘Team B’ does not have kit items such as shorts or socks that provide the required contrast between the teams. In general, lighting matters (day or night, indoors or outside), as do weather conditions. Yellow v white often may not work in bright sunlight, and some shirt materials may change contrast in the rain.

History informs also. When the United States faced Belgium in the round of 16, the FIFA World Cup 2026 co-hosts wore their dark blue alternative kit even though they were ‘Team A’. That was a straightforward decision for FIFA because of the aesthetically notorious friendly match the two countries contested back in March. From a distance, the Americans’ red-and-white primary shirt blended almost seamlessly with the Belgians’ light blue-and-pink secondary jersey. But the FEWG learns from its own experiences as well. When Ecuador faced Germany in their Group E decider on 25 June, referee Tori Penso’s teal shirt clashed with the shorts and socks of Germany’s alternate uniform because of the camera angles at New York New Jersey Stadium, which created another optical consideration.

Not surprisingly, teams have preferences , too. Tradition, superstition and marketing all play a role in what an individual nation wants to wear. Co-hosts Canada indicated a preference for their all-black secondary kit in their knockout matches against South Africa and Morocco. Mexico had asked to wear each of their three kits during the group stage. Four years ago in Qatar, France wished to wear all blue in the final versus Argentina, rather than their famous “bleu-blanc-rouge”, because it had lifted the trophy wearing that same monochromatic combination in 2018. Finally, there’s a matter of supply and logistics. Different teams prepare and bring different amounts of gear to the FIFA World Cup. Other considerations are in the management of inventory as the tournament progresses and advancing teams play additional matches.

Each team meets with FIFA Competition Officials when they arrive before the tournament. Kits are inspected and inventory noted, along with the group stage match colour allocations (provided a month prior to the tournament), at both the Team Arrival Meeting and then the Match Coordination Meeting on the day before the game. These meetings present two further opportunities to confirm and ensure the best choices were made, while also looking ahead to potential knockout stage permutations as teams progress. “You have some teams that would prepare four kits per player per match, and you may have other teams that might only prepare one or two,” Thurston said. Once match-day customisation is applied, that shirt cannot be worn again. So FIFA Competition Management is in constant contact with participating teams regarding their preferences and other logistical considerations. That also impacts those 15 minutes.

“It’s just part of the ongoing dialogue that we have on a day-to-day basis. It's not like they turn up in stadium and we don't talk to them between matches. We're in connection with the teams’ management on a regular basis, primarily through the FIFA Match Directors, Team Liaison Officers and colleagues in FIFA Team Services,” Thurston said. “And if they have any preferences, we have a working relationship with the teams,” he added. “And you know quite simply who to reach out to and vice versa, the teams can contact us. This dialogue simply leads into smoother match operations for all concerned.” The final stage in the colour selection process is the Match Coordination Meeting, which occurs the day before a given game. FIFA’s Match Director will inspect and photograph the overall match kits colour assignments of both teams and the referees together to ensure the selection works for the participants, setting, technology and fans. By then, the work should be done. The pre-match meeting is typically a validation and final confirmation of the minutes, months and years of art and science that went into the kit selection.

“The permutations are kind of reduced by the time you get to the match and the actual colour designation itself, and that's why we have the kit inspections with manufacturers, submission of equipment for pre-tournament inspection, Team Arrival Meetings and the Match Coordination Meeting itself,” Thurston said. “it’s about finding a balance between the main considerations of the enjoyment in watching the spectacle of a football match, national team colours and the other considerations,” he added. “Everything is considered just to ensure that we can achieve an optimal colour allocation, fundamentally at the end of the day, for all the stakeholders – including the teams themselves, the referees, the media, the commentators, the fans in stadium and the television audience around the world.”