Chelsea go black and yellow with lion-led 2026-27 away kit
Chelsea’s new away shirt strips the badge back to a lone lion and nods to the club’s yellow kits of the mid-1990s.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
Chelsea have brought out their 2026-27 away kit, and the lion is getting the spotlight.
According to ESPN, the club’s second shirt release of the summer was launched with the slogan “unleash the lion,” a theme carried through by a stripped-back version of the Chelsea crest. The badge has been reduced to the club’s rampant lion, with most of the surrounding detail removed.
The shirt is built around a black base, with yellow used for the main trim. ESPN described a laurel wreath-style pattern around the collar and sleeve cuffs, along with slim piping on the sides and shoulders.
The material also includes subtle ribbing and flocking, ESPN reported, although the outlet said those details were difficult to pick out in the sepia-toned images used for the launch campaign.
A 1990s nod
The black-and-yellow colour scheme was not picked at random. ESPN reported that the away kit is intended as a tribute to the yellow shirts Chelsea wore during the club’s mid-1990s revival.
That era brought several high-profile Italian players to Stamford Bridge, including Gianfranco Zola, Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Di Matteo, all of whom became major figures in Chelsea history.
The new away shirt follows the release of Chelsea’s 2026-27 home kit earlier in the summer. ESPN’s Chris Wright was not especially sold on either design, describing the home shirt as “mediocre” and calling the away release underwhelming despite its lion-focused launch line.
The away shirt shares one key design idea with the home version: both use the simplified crest treatment, putting the lion on its own rather than using the full traditional badge detail.
Another Premier League kit for the pile
The launch adds Chelsea to the growing list of Premier League clubs revealing new looks for the 2026-27 season. ESPN linked the release to its wider rankings of Premier League kits for the campaign, as well as its coverage of World Cup and European club shirt designs.
For Chelsea supporters, the talking points are clear: black base, yellow accents, a retro reference to the Zola, Vialli and Di Matteo years, and a crest reduced to its most recognisable beast.
Whether that makes the kit a winner is another matter. ESPN’s verdict was blunt, saying the concept had promise but the final shirt did not make the most of it.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.