For the 2025–26 season, FC Porto and New Balance unveil a special fourth kit designed to commemorate one of the most significant chapters in the club’s European history. Marking 15 years since the iconic UEFA Europa League victory in Dublin, this commemorative jersey revisits the visual identity of the unforgettable 2010–11 campaign, blending historical references with contemporary kit design. Created as both a symbolic tribute and a collector’s item, the shirt celebrates FC Porto’s seventh international title and a season still deeply embedded in the club’s legacy.
Design and Technical Features
The FC Porto 2025–26 fourth kit is built around a deep navy-blue base, a color long associated with the club’s traditional identity. Across the shirt run thin vertical stripes in yellow, shaped like lightning bolts — a defining graphic element drawn directly from the 2010–11 kit designs. Unlike the original away shirt from that season, where yellow played a more dominant role, this modern reinterpretation reverses the color balance, allowing navy blue to take center stage while the lightning motif adds subtle dynamism.
Yellow detailing is also applied to the V-neck collar and sleeve cuffs, reinforcing the visual link to early 2010s New Balance-era aesthetics while maintaining a clean and modern silhouette. The shirt features a woven FC Porto crest on the chest, complemented by a dedicated Europa League Dublin 2011 commemorative badge, created exclusively for this anniversary edition.
From a technical standpoint, the kit is constructed from 100% recycled polyester and incorporates New Balance’s NB DRY technology, engineered to support moisture management and quick drying during performance use. The combination of sustainable materials and modern fabric technology aligns the shirt with current production standards while preserving its heritage-driven character.
History and Inspiration
The inspiration behind the 2025–26 fourth kit is rooted in FC Porto’s remarkable 2010–11 Europa League campaign, which culminated in victory at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. That season, led by a team that would go on to leave a lasting mark on European football, remains one of the most celebrated in the club’s history.
Central to the kit’s design is the lightning bolt graphic, originally featured on the primary stripes of the 2010–11 home shirt — the same design worn during the final in Dublin. The new fourth kit also draws from the away jersey used during that campaign, notably worn in the memorable win in Vienna, played under heavy snowfall. By reversing the color logic of the original away shirt, New Balance and FC Porto create a visual bridge between past and present, honoring history while allowing space for new memories to form.
Usage and Debut
The 2025–26 fourth kit is positioned as a special-edition shirt rather than a primary match jersey. Its release is tied directly to the 15th anniversary celebrations of the Europa League triumph, forming part of a broader storytelling campaign around that historic season.
The launch campaign features Silvestre Varela, one of the protagonists of the 2010–11 journey and a starter in the Dublin final. Filmed at Bar Bonaparte Downtown, the campaign draws inspiration from the atmosphere of Irish pubs, echoing the scenes experienced by FC Porto supporters throughout Dublin during the final, with particular references to the iconic Temple Bar district.
Did You Know?
- The 2011 Europa League title remains FC Porto’s seventh international trophy.
- The lightning bolt stripe motif was a defining visual element across multiple kits during the 2010–11 season.
- The Vienna match referenced in the kit’s inspiration was played under snowfall, making it one of the most visually distinctive games of that European run.
- This fourth kit is the first FC Porto shirt to feature a badge specifically created to commemorate the Dublin 2011 final.
