Is this the worst sporting kit ever?

Eurosport - Fri, 10 Oct 17:35:00 2008

Stade Francais have been as famous for their outlandish kits as they have for their rugby prowess in recent years but their latest shirt (pictured) really takes the biscuit.

RUGBY: Stade Francais WORST KIT EVER - 0

The French powerhouse will wear their new third kit for the first time against Ulster in the Heineken Cup this weekend.

The shirt is a homage to the Pop Art style made famous by Andy Warhol and contains the image of Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII and mother of Louis IX.

In honour of Stade's questionable, yet gutsy, fashion statement, we have decided to celebrate some of the bolder fashion moves made by sport stars and teams over the years.

We were not just looking for the plain bad, rather the so bad that they were good efforts - anything with car crash quality that meant you couldn't keep your eyes off it no matter how hard you tried.

We have also decided to pick only one football shirt although we accept that - from Coventry's hideous brown effort in the 70s to Manchester United's infamous "where are they?" 1995/96 grey shirt - we could have had entire piece dedicated to the worst football shirts of all time.

Anyway - here we go - to see the photos we are talking about just click on the relevant links to your right with the slideshow link containing all the selections.

Football - Jorge Campos, Mexico - 1994

Every Mexico match at the USA 94 World Cup was a treat to watch not because of the team's Latin flair but rather to see what glow-in-the-dark outfit their eccentric keeper Jorge Campos would wear next. All his kits had a common theme: they managed to give the effect that someone had just vomited a packet of Skittles all over him.

Cricket - Hamish Marshall, New Zealand - 2005

The New Zealand throw-back beige shirt they wore for the 2005 Twenty20 international with Australia was alarming enough, but Kiwi all-rounder Hamish Marshall completely and utterly stole the show when he unveiled a retro afro for the occasion too. Everybody sing now - "burn baby burn, DISCO INFERNO, burn baby burn!"

Tennis - Andre Agassi - 1990

Could it be anyone else? The hair? The colours? The headband? The bicycle shorts? Put them together and you have Andre Agassi circa 1990 who was THE coolest man on the planet at the time. Ok, so those old pictures look ridiculous now, but trust me, the kids who dug out their old tennis rackets in the summer of 1990 didn't run out of the house pretending they were Ivan Lendl.

Motorcycling - Valentino Rossi - 2008

It is not easy for an individual to make a fashion mark in motorsports - he usually needs his sponsors to do that for him - however Valentino Rossi has utilised his helmet to great effect over the last few years. We liked when he roared around the track with a helmet designed like a football, but loved it even more when he put his own face on his helmet earlier this year. If somebody like Randy de Puniet tried a stunt like that he would just look like a prat, but because it's Rossi, it's cool!

Athletics - Cathy Freeman - 2000

Cathy Freeman looked more like she was gunning for a part in a re-make of 'The Running Man' than Olympic gold when she wore her full bodysuit at the Sydney Games. She looked how 80s movies projected WE would look like today - in other words ridiculous! However, when it was "time to start RUNNING!" Freeman ran away with gold in the 400m to delight of the home fans. Beat that Ben Richards!

Cycling - Kelme cycling team - 1993

Take a Wall's Twister ice-cream; then leave it in the sun for about 30 minutes; and you will end up having something that resembles the Kelme cycling team's shirt from 1993. There are lots of different colours in the peloton so to stand out really is something. Kelme's shocker managed to do just that.

Snooker - Dominic Dale - 2007

Bet you didn't expect to see a snooker player on the list eh? Well Dominic Dale manages to someone look more like John Travolta than Steve Davis when he enters the snooker arena. Forgot about John Virgo and his fancy waistcoats on Big Break back in the day - that was a silly TV Show. Dale has been known to wear a white tuxedo with a red shirt in high-pressure ranking events. We also liked teh purple shirt and peroxide blond hair combo he unveiled at the Shanghai Masters last year (see link). It worked for him too as he went on to win the tournament.

Ice Skating - Jenna McCrokell - 2008

We concede that there are not too many ice skating fans in the Eurosport office but we know there are plenty of hideous outfits out there. So we typed "ice skating" into the search box of one our photo agencies and low and behold a monstrosity came up on the very first page - take a bow Jenna McCrokell.

Golf - Payne Stewart - 1996

Ian Poulter may be golf's prince of style, but the late Payne Stewart will always remain the king. Stewart was loved by the galleries for his old school tam o'shanter caps and patterned trousers, which were a combination of plus fours and knickerbockers. We particularly like how dapper he looks with the addition of a tie in the attached photo. However, you can do an image search of Stewart anywhere and you'll see nothing but funky outfits.

Give us your thoughts on the best and worst of sporting fashion, leave your comments below.

Seán Fay / Eurosport

Comment 3 - 22 of 82

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  1. that orange rangers strip was thee best thing advocate­ done for rangers :) plus celtic r just rubbish:)

    From iwaniec06, on Fri 10 Oct 3:54PM
  2. the hoops is the most original and GREATEST strip on­ earth! irwanie06.. the huns are just jealous cause all­ ther strips are as boring as there team!!!

    From GLASGOW REPUBLICAN, on Fri 10 Oct 3:53PM
  3. Tallinn Tigers pink is truely fantastic and only real­ men can wear pink anyway. Good luck to the French for­ not being so conservetive and boring. Tallinn Tigers­ Estonia.

    From john, on Fri 10 Oct 3:51PM
  4. @#$% @#$%

    From steve901989123, on Fri 10 Oct 3:51PM
  5. i think its fantastic.i wud like a bomber jacket with­ that design on.but i write as an artistic and creative­ person.i think everyone should chilax about it. su­ monty

    From montyredordead, on Fri 10 Oct 3:50PM
  6. fantastic.
    might be the start of something
    perhaps­ naked angelina jolie on the sunderand strip next season

    From geordieprince1, on Fri 10 Oct 3:50PM
  7. what about celtics yellow top that was horrible

    From iwaniec06, on Fri 10 Oct 3:49PM
  8. the worst strip of all has to be glasgow rangers­ (orange) we`re not bigots strip!! aye right!!!

    From GLASGOW REPUBLICAN, on Fri 10 Oct 3:49PM
  9. Well any Newcastle shirt is in bad taste

    From anthony b, on Fri 10 Oct 3:49PM
  10. What about Celtics " bumble bee out fit some years­ back...or that appalling grey away shirt that Sir Alex­ Ferguson blamed on a Man Utd defeat...?

    From mattyboy 66, on Fri 10 Oct 3:48PM
  11. just all cletic tops rely lol change it once n a while­ please :Lol

    From iwaniec06, on Fri 10 Oct 3:47PM
  12. Is it just me or do the links not work

    From seth, on Fri 10 Oct 3:47PM
  13. England, Olympic games 2008, not only was the simples­ ever but was always confusing me, is that britain ? or­ greece?? LoL.. shaaaaaame, i was expecting something­ better from UK

    From Spyros, on Fri 10 Oct 3:44PM
  14. To IKcarey 89,At least the wexford youths are prepared­ to play in their pink shirts and not sulk that they­ couldnt warm up on a specific pitch and then go home­ without playing.What about the people that had bothered­ to turn up to watch the game,kids included.Great­ example to the kids!Its my ball and i'm gonna sulk­ and go home!Its not about the kit,it's whos wearing­ it thats important!

    From mark b, on Fri 10 Oct 3:07PM
  15. You Missed out Everton's Salmon pink home kit years­ ago

    From John, on Fri 10 Oct 2:28PM
  16. Wexford Youths pink jersey and shorts are just as bad.­ Come on Mike Kerley and Limerick 37

    From lkcarey89, on Fri 10 Oct 2:19PM
  17. van der sar's grass green outfit is also not very­ tasteful but especially hard to see! should be­ forbidden for a keeper!

    From Juan P, on Fri 10 Oct 2:00PM
  18. you forget the spiderman shirts of athletico madrid (?)

    From Juan P, on Fri 10 Oct 1:59PM
  19. surely Hull City's tiger print shirt is the worst­ ever!

    From john m, on Fri 10 Oct 1:36PM
  20. And, to think Partick Thistle got dogs abuse for a pink­ and grey shirt at the start of this season!!

    From Singin' Ginger!!, on Fri 10 Oct 1:35PM
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