The news that New Balance had agreed a deal with the FAI to become the Republic of Ireland's official kit supplier from September of this year onward received a mixed reaction from fans.
While some pointed to the solid job NB did with the current Liverpool home and away kits, others were wary due the company's tendency to go a bit mad with away jerseys in the past, and just the general curiosity in a brand that only sponsors a handful of football teams.
Umbro made the Ireland jerseys for 23 years, so many of us don't even remember a time where there was anything different, and again while some will miss the English sportswear company, others wanted to see the likes of Nike or Adidas have a go.
Here at Balls.ie we love our football jerseys, so the news was met with intrigue on our end, let's see what New Balance have up their sleeve.
However, we couldn't help also wondering what the jerseys may look like if another brand got the job.
With that in mind, we've quickly photoshopped up some possibilities based on the 'teamwear' selections available, as you know Ireland wouldn't be getting their own unique design.
Here's what we came up with:
Adidas Option 1
The first, a very basic teamwear option, is actually gorgeous.
Adidas Option 2
The second, a slightly more mad teamwear option, is also a beaut. Adidas, where were you?
Nike
Only one Nike option because there's only one way Nike would have gone. Essentially the current Cork City home kit, which is arguably the nicest in the League of Ireland, but with no UCC sponsor and an orange stripe on the side. Delicious.
Puma
Keeping it simple with a Puma teamwear option, a decent effort but a tad boring.
Under Armour
Surely any UA option would be a bit more adventurous, but we found this teamwear option and put a spin on it. Looks decent.
Kappa
Purely in the mix because we wanted to see how an Ireland jersey in the style of the iconic tight Kappa jersey would look. Verdict: It would look well.
Joma (for the craic)
They had a lot of teamwear options so we thought we'd throw them in too.
Don't like our rough attempts? Feel you can do better? Have a go at mocking up what you would have liked to see as an Ireland jersey and tweet it to us, we'll include it in this post.
Otherwise, let us know which one you'd like the most.
Update:
Fair play to Daithí on Twitter for getting back with a cracking Joma alternative.
And a random punter by the name of Random Punter got in touch with his idea as to where New Balance might go.
