Leeds revive Yorkshire Rose as 2026/27 away kit nods to storied era | OneFootball

Leeds United have unveiled their 2026/27 away kit, restoring the Yorkshire Rose crest linked to a decorated era. According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, the design is a deliberate nod to past success.

A release film, narrated by Lucas Radebe, features fans alongside Anton Stach, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The bold yellow returns after record sales ahead of 2024/25, echoing the 1970s smiley used on the Championship title-winning kit.

Leeds wore the Yorkshire Rose from 1984 to 1998, introduced under Eddie Gray and spanning most of Howard Wilkinson’s reign. In their third campaign, 1989/90, they won the Second Division, then finished fourth the next season, before lifting the First Division in 1991/92. The crest stayed into the first Premier League season before a 1998 change.

Supporter Brenda Reader designed the emblem, winning a Yorkshire Evening Post competition in 1984. The switch followed chairman Leslie Silver reportedly viewing the 1980-1984 Peacock badge as unlucky, and Gray and his players chose Reader’s entry from hundreds.

Reader said she produced five concepts for a simple, effective mark, focusing on the flower and a ball.

The rose remained until 1998, when a shield replaced it. Wilkinson, who had admired the shield on the Italian national team suits at Euro 96, argued for a clearer, internationally recognisable badge, saying the rose was not obviously Leeds from distance, and sketched a design that kept a small rose at the top. Leeds introduced it two years after his September 1996 dismissal.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk