Aydın Tiryaki and Gemini AI (2026)

In the modern football industry, where billion-dollar broadcasting rights are auctioned, where players have their own numbers and club sponsor logos on their shorts, and microchips in their boots, nothing can be left to chance. The color of the kits teams will wear on the pitch during a match we watch on screen is not a random choice pulled out of a bag by kit managers on the morning of the match; it is an engineering process based on strict rules and a digital algorithm.

From black-and-white screens to digital software: The evolution of the “contrast” rule

In the past, when television broadcasts were black and white, the number one rule in kit selection was the contrast between “light and dark colors.” When a team in dark red played against a team in dark blue, the players turned into 22 gray spots on a black-and-white screen, making it impossible to tell who was passing to whom.

Although everyone watches color television today, this rule hasn’t disappeared; it has simply evolved. Today, the digital contrast software used by FIFA and UEFA first applies a “grayscale” filter to the system when matching team kits. The main purpose of this today is to both preserve the viewing pleasure of millions of viewers with red-green color blindness and to reduce the margin of error of AI-supported VAR cameras to zero.

The hierarchy of rules: The constitution and regulations of the business

Local federations (e.g., the TFF in Turkey) cannot set arbitrary rules regarding kits. The actual constitution that determines the rules of football is the “Laws of the Game” book written by IFAB (International Football Association Board). IFAB Law 4 draws a very clear framework: The two teams must wear colours that distinguish them from each other and the match officials. Each goalkeeper must wear colours that are distinguishable from the other players and the match officials.

FIFA and UEFA take this constitutional article and turn it into massive “Equipment Regulations.” Every engineering detail, from the exact centimeters of the chest sponsor to how much light the kit’s fabric will reflect, is detailed in these booklets.

Local application: The supervisory role of federations

Local institutions like the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) are not rule-makers or color selectors; they are “supervisory and approving” authorities. According to the TFF’s Sporting Equipment Instruction, clubs must upload and register the designs of all the shirts, shorts, and socks sets they will use as a catalog to the Football Management System (FYS) before the season begins. When the match week arrives, the matchups of the teams are inspected through this system a certain period before the match.

Step-by-step kit determination algorithm (The on-pitch process)

Kit selection progresses through an approval cycle that moves step-by-step via the FYS:

1. The home team’s priority: The home team logs into the system, selects the single combination it wants to wear for that match, and confirms it. By rule, the home team’s first choice is always accepted.
2. The away team’s compliance: The away team sees the home team’s finalized color in the system. They select the set that will visually contrast the most with this and send it to the system for approval. The system (federation) approves it if there is sufficient contrast. If there is a clash, it rejects it and asks the away team to make another choice.
3. The home goalkeeper’s selection: After the two colors of the outfield players are locked in, the home goalkeeper selects a goalkeeper set completely different from these two colors on the pitch, and the system approves it.
4. The away goalkeeper’s narrowing pool: The hardest part belongs to the away goalkeeper. They must find and log a set into the system that is a completely different color from their own team, the opposing team, and the opposing goalkeeper. The system cross-checks and registers this fourth color as well.
5. The referees’ elimination method: Once all player and goalkeeper kits are finalized, the match referee looks at these 4 color groups. From the standard color sets provided by the federation (neon yellow, black, turquoise, red, etc.), they personally select the color that does not resemble anyone on the pitch.

From digital to the pitch: The coordination meeting and crisis management

On the morning of the match day, a “Coordination Meeting” is held at the stadium with the participation of the referee, delegates, and club officials. Here, the kits approved in the digital system are laid on the table. The goal is to make a final visual confirmation of whether there is a physical issue with the vibrancy of the colors depending on the stadium’s lighting or weather conditions that day.

So, what happens if a last-minute crisis arises or the kit manager brings the wrong set? The era of “borrowing the opponent’s spare shorts” like in amateur leagues is long gone. Clubs always carry unbranded, solid-colored spare shorts with them when they go to away games. In the event of a potential crisis, player numbers are urgently printed on these plain shorts using portable heat press machines in the stadium corridors, and the problem is solved.

Conclusion: Visual necessities and the impact of technology on the game

As a result, the colors of football kits and those complex, eye-straining patterned sweaters of the goalkeepers are not merely aesthetic choices; they are the mathematical result of the necessity for everyone on the pitch to be distinguishable from each other. The ability of semi-automated offside systems and cameras in the VAR room to distinguish one player’s leg from another’s within milliseconds depends entirely on the flawless operation of this digital color algorithm established through the system.

| aydintiryaki.org | YouTube | Aydın Tiryaki’nin Yazıları ve Videoları │Articles and Videos by Aydın Tiryaki | Bilgi Merkezi│Knowledge Hub  | ░ Futbolda forma seçimi │ Football kit selection ░ 13.02.2026

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A Note on Methods and Tools: All observations, ideas, and solution proposals in this study are the author’s own. AI was utilized as an information source for researching and compiling relevant topics strictly based on the author’s inquiries, requests, and directions; additionally, it provided writing assistance during the drafting process. (The research-based compilation and English writing process of this text were supported by AI as a specialized assistant.)