Can fans decide the design of football jerseys?

In Portugal, football is a sport with a massive following, to the point that fans of Benfica—the club with the largest fanbase across the country—can pay a monthly fee to become club members, or rather, sócios. Being a sócio comes with certain privileges, including the right to participate in major decisions of Benfica. This includes participation in general assemblies (attended by some sócios along with the executive board led by the president), where critical issues such as the club's budget, financial reports, and statute revisions are discussed. In fact, Benfica has a sort of statute (which functions like a set of regulations) consisting of about 90 articles, which are reviewed one by one during the general assemblies, with members voting on proposed changes when necessary.

Benfica has over 300,000 sócios, and among them is Francisco Torgal, who recently succeeded in introducing new guidelines regarding the club’s future kits. This case study demonstrates how fans can truly influence the visual and aesthetic identity of a club, especially one as significant as Benfica. Torgal believes that the design of some jerseys released by Benfica in recent seasons goes against the club's heritage. In short, according to the fan and member of Benfica's assembly, a club so deeply connected to its supporters like Benfica has the duty to respect its tradition.

The most recent assembly was held recently, and we had the opportunity to interview Francisco Torgal, the man who managed to introduce a significant change.

Francisco Torgal's Proposal

«My proposal focuses on maintaining the classic red and white colors in the home kit. In the 2020/21 season, the main jersey was a red-orange with black details and a monochrome golden logo, which most fans found unacceptable for a home kit». He continued: «I also suggested that the away kit should be mainly white, ideally (but not necessarily) with red details, in line with the club's tradition. Lastly, I proposed that the third kit be a blank canvas, allowing adidas to get creative in order to keep the club in step with contemporary tastes».

«The most significant change I proposed concerns the club's crest aesthetics. I wanted it to respect the club's official colors on all three kits, prohibiting the introduction of monochromatic or revised versions of the crest on match jerseys. Initially, I had proposed introducing a different crest at least on the third kit, but from what emerged among the members present at the general assembly, there was a desire to have the original crest on all three kits, so I adjusted the original proposal. My proposals were approved by over 80% of the nearly 2,000 members who took part in the general assembly. I was inspired by clubs like Flamengo and Milan, who remain highly consistent with their identity».

How Benfica's New Guidelines Could Impact adidas

The club's statute review is still ongoing: these changes will only come into effect once all 90 articles governing the club's operations have been examined. As a result, these kit guidelines may not be implemented until the 2026/27 season, unless adidas takes note of the changes in advance and decides to adapt the designs as soon as possible. «Fans like me are willing to help adidas gather any kind of useful information to align with our vision».

The new guidelines introduced by Benfica will not affect lifestyle collections (should adidas decide to create them) or training gear, which could create a perfect market segmentation for the Portuguese club’s supplier. In fact, thanks to the results gathered during the last general assembly, in which Francisco Torgal also participated, adidas is aware that most Benfica fans prefer the traditional crest. Therefore, from a commercial standpoint, this serves as a sort of "market research" showing that fans would be more likely to purchase a jersey featuring the crest in the club's colors. Simultaneously, adidas could focus more on customizing the crest in lifestyle collections or training gear, aiming to appeal to the younger generations (who are less attached to the club's tradition), not only in Portugal but also internationally.