During the 2026 season, FC Tucson players took the field in a striking black jersey streaked with bolts of lightning – a design inspired by the dramatic monsoon storms of the Sonoran Desert.
The jersey caught the attention of ESPN soccer writer Chris Wright, who included it in a list of the world’s most weird and wonderful soccer jerseys of the 2026-27 season.
For Cole Eckel, FC Tucson’s vice president of business and strategy, the recognition is an opportunity to put the local club on an international stage.
“We're not quite sure how far our reach is with global media giants or around the world of soccer,” Eckel said. “This was just a really cool moment to see that something we're doing to represent Tucson can get picked up. We're very honored.”
The list features 18 kits from clubs around the world, ranging from third division teams in Germany to Argentina. FC Tucson’s design, which became known as the “monsoon kit,” was one of just two jerseys representing U.S. teams.
Wright highlighted the desert weather behind the design, describing the shirt as inspired by the Sonoran Desert’s sporadic, intense storms – “which, as it happens, makes for an incredibly dramatic, almost cinematic football shirt design,” Wright said.
That dramatic look was no accident. Eckel said the club’s creative team explored numerous iterations before settling on a design that built on a 2022 FC Tucson jersey inspired by monsoon lightning. The updated kit also served as a tribute to the World Cup, as the club wanted to commemorate the tournament by bringing a fresh look to the field during summer 2026.
“We were trying to go with something that's truly stunning— kind of dramatic—that really captured the essence of a monsoon within a kit,” Eckel said. “It's got purple clouds, some orange sunset vibes in there and then some very distinct purple lightning that goes across the kit. Front, back, sleeves, all over there.”
Turning that vision into a finished jersey took collaboration. Eckel credited the club’s jersey partners – Vantage West, HJ3 and CARF – with helping bring the design to life. The kit is now available for purchase through FC Tucson’s website.
The jerseys made their way onto the field throughout the 2026 season, worn by both the men’s and women’s teams during home games. At times, the design seemed to mirror the landscape beyond the stadium, as monsoon clouds gathered over the Catalina Mountains and lightning flashed in the distance.
“You can see clouds off into the distance with some lightning going, and you get some oohs and aahs from the crowd,” Eckel said. “The fact that the fans really embraced and championed this jersey this year—they’re wearing it, the players are wearing it. You’ve got ominous storms in the distance.”
For Eckel, the kit’s connection to the desert made it more than just a bold uniform. It gave players and fans a way to represent the place they call home. It seemed to work: the men’s team never lost a home game the entire 2026 season.
“Did it help us on the pitch? You never really know, but I'd like to think so,” Eckel said.
