Unveiling team kits on Twitter

With 672 million Tweets, Twitter was the place where football fans came together to share in the dramatic highs and lows of the #WorldCup.

And whilst the memories of the the Brazil championships may already be fading, clubs across England are continuing the conversation with football fans on Twitter as they ramp up for a new season of action, with many launching their new season kits on the platform. 

To launch their new team strip, Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) treated their fans to a treasure hunt with a difference on the streets of their city and the local area.

Overnight, 500 numbered, special edition balls were left in secret locations with a simple call to action… find a ball and Tweet a selfie holding it to #EarnYourStripes for a chance to win the new Saints football kit.

The response from local fans was immediate, as photos started to flood in from across Southampton and beyond.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest (@Official_NFFC) organised a treasure hunt of their own, distributing 10 giant pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to their partners to hide around Nottingham.

This time, a series of clues were tweeted, leading fans to the 10 puzzle pieces. Each finder was asked to bring their piece to the stadium, where they had a fixed time to put them all together to reveal the club’s new football kit to the world for the first time.

On the other side of the Peak District, Manchester United (@ManUtd) got in on the act, enlisting the help of mascot Fred The Red to give one lucky fan the new kit:

And in Birmingham, Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) played on the fact that their new away kit had a striking resemblance to the famous one worn by the 1982 team when they won the European Cup.

Any fan who pre-ordered the shirt within a 20-mile radius of Villa Park, went into the hat for the chance to have it delivered in person by a class of ‘82 legend, like Gordon Cowans or Tony Morley.

Finally, Huddersfield Town (@htafcdotcom) made use of a new Twitter feature and launched their new shirt with a GIF, embedded in a Tweet.

Here’s a mini guide on how to use GIFs on Twitter.

The @football_league season starts on 9 August, with the @premierleague following on 16 August, so be sure to follow along on Twitter ahead of the season to get close to the action and join the live conversation with fellow fans, players, clubs and pundits around the world.