Sporting KC Unveil New 2019 Kit Numbers

[Update on 1/18/19: At the first preseason game, second round pick Camden Riley wore #27, so we’ve made that update. The other rookies, Kamar Marriott (first round) and Franky Martinez (third round) didn’t have numbers on their jerseys. And Homegrown signing Tyler Freeman wore #23, but we’ll hold off updating that information as the team still lists him as #28.]

I can’t explain why, but I’m fascinated by players changing their number. In the National Football League, players sometimes pay big bucks to wear their preferred number. There are good examples of it in all kinds of sports actually.

In Major League Soccer, I can’t imagine huge sums of money (if any money at all) ever changes hand over a number. That said, you need to know the players numbers so you can identify them on the field. Preseason starts in just two days.

The list of changes is tiny compared to 2018 (a must read story if there ever was one). Last season Roger Espinoza, Gerso Fernandes, Gianluca Busio, Daniel Salloi and Amer Didic all changed numbers. Espinoza and Salloi had career years. Coincidence? I think not.

In 2019 just a single player is making a switch but several new players are unveiling their numbers. Andreu Fontas is switching from the bizarrely high 30 kit to the much more typical defender number of 4. Without further ado, here is the full list.

If that got you excited, just imagine what will happen when actual soccer is played. The first game is Friday. It’s unlikely to be available to watch online as it’s a scrimmage but if we all aggressively cross our fingers, anything could happen.