These five MLS teams just got blessed by the throwback gods

Five Major League Soccer teams will look very cool during the hot summer months. The league has unveiled an archive collectionThis includes the third jerseys to be worn by Inter Miami, both Los Angeles franchises, Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City through the remainder of the 2024 season.

The collection is a series of throwback jerseys, jackets and even shoes created by the league’s apparel provider, Adidas. The collection will continue for future seasons as other teams join in. The theme of the Archive collection is to embrace the retro vibe of each city.

The five clubs that kick off the adidas x MLS Archive Collection are LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Inter Miami CF, Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas CityThe launch of this nostalgia series will see MLS and Adidas consider expanding the number of clubs with third jerseys beyond 2025.

The adidas x MLS Archive Collection draws on nostalgic references from sports broadcasts, advertisements, magazines and catalogs to create a unique story for each club. The collection features jerseys, jackets and Gazelle shoes that reflect the retro theme of each club’s city.

The LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City, both of which have been in MLS since their inaugural season in 1996, are taking fans back to the early days with their third jerseys, while Sporting’s third jersey, the Kansas City Wizards’, brings back a throwback vibe with a stunning jersey that is sure to be a best-seller. The Galaxy are also bringing back their original jersey as inspiration for their new third jersey, keeping it pretty close to the one worn in the club’s inaugural season.

The Portland Timbers are paying tribute to a local football hero with their new third kit. Clive Charles was one of the first black players to play in the English first division. He joined the Timbers in 1978 and the team is basing their third kit on that year and his inspiring story.

Major League Soccer

LAFC and Inter Miami also got third jerseys, but for teams with little jersey history, both teams incorporated their city’s design history into their third kits. LAFC’s jersey is inspired by 1970s Southern California iconography, using the team’s primary colors to represent “the setting sun” and “the diversity of its people.” Inter Miami’s jersey officially has a vintage 1980s Miami feel and uses an Art Deco font common in Miami-Dade, while the light blue, white, and orange jersey is Miami DolphinsEven the jersey numbers are reminiscent of football jerseys the Dolphins have worn for generations.

Major League Soccer

The MLS Archives Collection comes with a track jacket and adidas Gazelle shoes to ensure fans look cool in the stands and on the streets.

Major League Soccer

The MLS Archive Collection is expected to expand to other teams in the 2025 season, potentially becoming the league’s version of Major League Baseball’s City Connect series of uniforms. It has long been unclear which teams would be eligible to wear and sell their third jerseys (many estimate it would take a team selling more than 100,000 jerseys a year).

Major League Soccer

Personally, I think the archive collection could have accomplished more by starting with the teams that started in the league in 1996. The Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas (then the Dallas Burn), New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls (then the NY/NJ MetroStars) and San Jose Earthquakes (then the San Jose Crush) are the first teams not included in the archive collection who are still in Major League Soccer today.

The Archive Collection is currently available for these five teams, and we expect to see each team roll out their jerseys on the field in the coming days.