Updated on February 5 to add the first photo of the actual new black NYCFC away kit to the bottom of this post.
A first glimpse of the new black NYCFC Away jersey has arrived courtesy of EA Sports FC 24, the video game formerly known as FIFA.
In a screw-up of seemingly epic proportions, an update to the game revealed the new 2024 jerseys of a number of teams in MLS, NYCFC included.
Olive & York put together a helpful pair of images that collects every single leaked MLS kit to be revealed in the game, which you can check out below.
More specific to our interests here at Hudson River Blue is that snazzy new black NYCFC Away kit.
Our executive editor Oliver Strand reported on the fact that black was the primary color of the team’s new 2024 jersey on January 9. Now, EA Sports FC 24 has inadvertently provided an early look at New York City’s second-ever black jersey.
The new NYCFC 2024 Away kit as it appears in EA Sports FC 24, shared by Hayden Nielsen on Twitter.
Official NYCFC supporters group The Third Rail dropped the initial hint that black was coming back to NYCFC’s kit rotation at the beginning of January. That’s when they revealed their “2024 Membership Package” which included black-dominant scarf, pin, and sticker designs that align neatly with this newly-leaked kit. That got picked up by Footy Headlines, which got the black NYCFC kit rumor mill kicked into overdrive.
Now that we can see the 2024 NYCFC Away kit’s design, albeit in slightly blurry video game form, let’s talk about this newest adidas shirt.
Without the benefit of high-resolution professional photos that zoom in on every jersey detail, it’s hard to go too deep on the design. At first glance it looks simpler and cleaner than NYCFC’s much-beloved 2015 Away jersey, which was also black and featured details like shiny black vertical stripes, an orange “NYC” monogram on the back collar, and really only light hints of orange elsewhere on the shirt.
The 2024 Away kit seems to dial the orange accents up, though not on the level of the bright-orange design of the Volt Kit or even the trippy Hypno Kit from 2016. Instead, it’s a black shirt with alternating sky blue and orange accents, along with a slimmed-down club badge.
NYCFC’s usual crest gets replaced on this new black kit by a blue-lettered version of the “NYC” monogram from the full badge. The sleeve trim colors alternate between orange and blue, as does the shirt sponsor text.
When it’s all put together, it gives off a slight 1998 New York Mets alternate black jersey vibe, fitting for a New York City side set to play six home matches at Citi Field in 2024.
As mentioned in our previous coverage of the forthcoming black kit, NYCFC likely won’t officially reveal the jersey until sometime in February: The Interboro Kit dropped on February 15 last year, the Volt Kit on February 18 the year before last. The EA Sports FC 24 leak is a first look, but the kits tend to always look different up close and when modeled by actual humans.
We still want to hear your thoughts on the club’s newest jersey. Have adidas and NYCFC improved on the black 2015 Away kit, which many fans consider the best kit in the club’s nine-season history? We’re here if you need to vent or critique the second coming of a black NYCFC kit, give us your unfiltered (or maybe lightly filtered, this is a family website after all) opinions in the comments below or over on Twitter.
Update: On February 3, actual photos of the new black NYCFC away kit emerged, presumably from a leaked adidas photoshoot. This is the replica version of the jersey, meaning it doesn’t have sleeve sponsors or the star above the club crest.
