More than 180,000 designs, 1.7 million ratings, and in the end one winner: Manchester City and PUMA let fans shape the new third kit using generative AI. The winner is a lifelong City fan.
Elliott is on his lunch break. He's into football kits and design, and gives PUMA's AI generator a try. He doesn't expect much. Later, he describes it as one of those moments where he just thought, “why not?”
Today, his design is Manchester City's third kit for the 2026/27 season.
The tool Elliott used has been around since December 2024. PUMA and Manchester City opened the AI generator up to fans back then. The generative AI tool turns written prompts into kit designs within seconds. Colours, patterns and other elements can then be adjusted using additional tools.
180,000 Entries, One Winner: How Manchester City's AI Contest Played Out
Fans from more than 200 countries create over 180,000 different kits using the AI generator. By the end of the project, the platform has recorded 1.7 million ratings, according to Manchester City. The most popular designs are narrowed down to ten finalists, which fans vote on in January 2025.
Elliott wins. A City fan who, by his own account, has supported the club practically since birth. His first kit was the blue Eidos jersey from 2000, and he attended his first match in 2004, a 0-0 draw against Southampton. Back then, he found it hard to imagine that one of his own designs could ever become an official City kit.
The finished third kit is white. A two-tone stripe runs down the centre, one half in Manchester City's sky blue, the other in navy. A subtle gradient shifts its effect depending on the light.
Elliott's design wins the fan vote. In the 2026/27 season, the third kit is now worn by Manchester City on the pitch.
What's New About Manchester City's AI Kit
The AI generator had already been involved in a City kit before. In 2025, club players used it to design a limited-edition goalkeeper kit that was subsequently worn on the pitch.
For the 2026/27 third kit, though, the winning design comes from a fan. Manchester City and PUMA describe it as the first AI-designed kit created by a fan in professional football to then be worn by players and sold to the public.
The artificial intelligence didn't design the kit alone. Elliott feeds his ideas into the tool and edits the designs it generates. Other fans rate the submissions and ultimately vote on the ten finalists. PUMA and Manchester City provide the tool and run the contest.
Normally, kits for professional clubs are created by the club and the manufacturer. Here, fans get to take part in the design itself, first with their own submissions, then with their vote.
For Elliott, the result becomes tangible at the photoshoot. Manchester City invites him along to see his kit on the players for the first time. During the shoot, he later recalls, he briefly forgot the design was his. Then it hit him again: “Oh wait, that's mine.”
The third kit is available now at the Manchester City shop and at PUMA.
Manchester City and PUMA's love of unusual ideas for their kits, by the way, was already on display a few weeks earlier. The new away kit was unveiled during the pre-season tour in Hong Kong, on a floating football pitch in Victoria Harbour. More than 1,500 City fans were there for the launch.
