Manchester City’s 2026/27 third kit was created by a fan with AI And we met him
PUMA and Manchester City have unveiled the Club’s Third Kit for the 2026/27 season. A special jersey because, for the first time in professional football, fans were given the opportunity to design a kit using AI. The design created by Elliott, a photographer and City fan, was brought to life using PUMA AI Creator.
A total of 180,000 different designs were submitted and, following 1.7 million votes on the platform, the most popular designs were selected from the ten finalists, which were then put to a fan vote in January 2025. The winning jersey is a reinterpretation of the 2013/14 Third kit, featuring a central two-tone stripe, half sky blue and half navy, running the full length of the jersey with a subtle gradient effect.
«I've always loved that kit - Elliott explain us when we asked him he picked that kit specifically - . As a fan, you always have these old kits that you want to see reimagined at some point, and that was always at the top of my list. I have such vivid memories of it, and I always loved it. Nothing similar ever came back, so I thought, "If I have the opportunity to make it, then I should take it." So, when I had the opportunity to create it, I seized it. I moved the band to the centre to make it more symmetrical and tried to keep as much as possible. I think the colours have switched from the original 13–14 as well, so it's now light blue and dark blue. It's just slight, subtle touches. Hopefully enough people will recognise where it came from».
Elliott was able to navigate the creative process using PUMA AI Creator because he had an immediate idea of the type of jersey he wanted to create: «I can't remember how many prompts I included. I think I had about 10. I'd say it's 50-50 between my artistic input and AI. It was sort of modular. I put in a rough idea and then I could refine it. I put in the stripe, for example, and I could move it around, make it bigger or smaller. The only changes came from the humour side. Logistically, they had to fade out the middle to fit in the sponsor and so on. But the technical details are so close to the original, it's actually surprising. Because I had such a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve, I knew what to look for. I knew what to reject — that wasn't close enough. Once I got closer, I knew I had it. So, I'm basically done now — just submit it. This is exactly how I thought I wanted it to be.»
The launch of the jersey has been anticipated by billboards all over Manchester. This is another major source of pride for Elliott, who has been a massive City fan since childhood. When we asked him what it means to him to be part of the story of the club he supports, he replied immediately: «It's insane. I just don't think it's quantifiable. I still don't really believe it's happening, to be honest. I felt like I had found the shirt I wanted. I think I have an inherent knowledge of every City shirt in my memory. So, you know, I've been collecting football shirts for 20 or 30 years, so I sort of know what I like. I don't know if it's because I'm a Man City fan or if I just generally like football shirts. The dream is that we win a trophy wearing it and it becomes part of history. It would be so good if people remember that trophy lift or a famous game happening in the shirt.»