Africa's greatest World Cup kits: A ranking of iconic designs

The World Cup is synonymous with goals, drama and emotion—but also with great kits. When it comes to colourful and iconic designs, Africa has produced more than its fair share. BBC Sport Africa has picked 10 of the continent's very best for you to rank. Which one is your all-time favourite?

Zaire 1974 (home)

The oldest, and possibly boldest, of our kits, this vision in yellow and green was very much of its time. While the shirt featured a big collar and deep V-neck, what really made it stand out was the decision to put both the name of the country and the team's Leopards nickname and logo on the chest. Congolese designer Alvin Junior Mak, who recently went viral after designing the current squad's leopard print arrival suits, says he looked back to the fashions of 1974 for inspiration. "When you are in Africa, we say if you want to move forward, you have to see where you come from," he told BBC Sport Africa. While Zaire's tournament 52 years ago—which included a 9-0 hammering at the hands of Yugoslavia—turned out to be a failure, at least the kit was anything but.

Algeria 1982 (home)

Another deep neck and big collar also mark this shiny beauty out as a product of its era. Algeria's first World Cup appearance in 1982 came towards the back end of the country's socialist heyday, meaning the kit was manufactured by state-owned clothing firm Sonitex. "The company is defunct now, so there's no copyright protection on the design, hence many smaller clothing companies copying and selling it in Algeria and to the diaspora," said Algerian sports journalist Maher Mazahi. "That's also one of the reasons it's so popular among our football hipsters."

Cameroon 1990 (home)

Cameroon's run to the quarter-finals of Italia '90 was memorable for many reasons, including their 1-0 victory over holders Argentina in the tournament's opening match and, of course, Roger Milla's corner-flag wiggle. Aged 38, the veteran striker was called out of retirement by President Paul Biya and bagged four goals to inspire his dancing celebration. "The shirt had an iconic lion roaring on the chest, which to many was a symbol of pride, courage and determination," explained Paul Njie, the BBC World Service's man in Yaounde. "Many people believe that was the best ever performance of the Cameroon national team and some of them attribute that to the luck which came with the kit."

Nigeria 1994 (away)

Nigeria made their first World Cup appearance in 1994 and immediately set the standard with this jersey. Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amunike all scored as the Super Eagles rocked it on their debut, gaining a 3-0 win over Bulgaria. They wore it again for the 2-0 victory over Greece, meaning they won both games while playing in away colors and lost against Argentina and Italy when sporting their green home kit. "We see the legends, the players that made the difference for Nigerian football, and if I close my eyes that's the first shirt that comes to mind," former Super Eagles skipper William Troost-Ekong told BBC Sport Africa. "Nigeria's greatest set of Super Eagles have worn that shirt and all of us strive to be able to imitate that."

South Africa 1998 (home)

This geometric classic was an update on the much-loved shirt worn by South Africa as they claimed Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) glory on home soil in 1996. They wore it in all three World Cup group games, but failed to win any of them on their maiden appearance. "These days South Africa tend to wear yellow, but back in the 1990s their shirts were much more fun," said Josh Warwick, co-founder of the Cult Kits website. "In our opinion, Kappa were one of the great brands from that era."