KOMBATâ„¢ XXV: LIGHT, STRETCHY, UNSTOPPABLE. THE LEGEND LIVES ON.
Kappa^® celebrates the 25th anniversary of the iconic Kombat™ football jersey with a global project blending innovation, technology, and style.

In 2000, football changed its skin. At the UEFA European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, the Italian National Team took to the pitch wearing a shirt that would forever revolutionize both sport and style: Kappa^®’s Kombat™. A tight-fitting, hyper-elastic design created for performance, it introduced for the first time the “stop stopping� technology — an innovative fabric that provided up to 30 cm of extra freedom of movement and made holding fouls more visible. A true revolution that changed the rules of the game, cementing Kappa^® as a pioneer of functional design. Today, 25 years later, that innovation has become a universal standard. Tighter, elastic, performancedriven football shirts are now the norm, but the turning point remains the same: the Kombat™.

Several versions were introduced by Kappa^® after 2000, each more advanced than the last, carrying forward the same DNA of technical innovation and functional design. Today, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the brand revives this tradition with a new evolution: Kombat™ XXV, the commemorative shirt that reinvents the legend with even more advanced performance. Kappa^®’s anniversary celebration of this defining moment began in March at the Milan headquarters with the retrospective exhibition“Keep on Kombat� and now continues with a global project that renews the legend on the pitch with a commemorative shirt made from 92% recycled polyester and 8% elastane, which is even lighter and more advanced than the original, supported by a worldwide campaign bridging football and fashion.

Djibril Cissé — the French former footballer and enduring style icon known as much for his power on the field as for his personality off it, who famously wore the original edition of the Kombat™ for AJ Auxerre, which remains a cult classic — returns as the face of the campaign, bringing Kombat XXV’s spirit to life. From November 15 to 30, 18 Kappa®-sponsored teams around the world will wear the special commemorative Kombat^TM XXV shirt in official matches, turning football pitches into a connected international stage.

Among them are historic and iconic clubs such as Genoa CFC, ACF Fiorentina, OGC Nice, Red Star, Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, Clube Desportivo Nacional, Racing Club de Avellaneda, Vasco da Gama, Nacional de Madeira, Athens Kallithea, and many more. Each club will feature in dedicated photoshoots and social activations, in a coherent global communication highlighting the universal strength of the project.

Further confirming the stylistic relevance of the 2000 Kombat™, Kappa^® joins forces with Slam Jam, a global reference for street culture, as the two brands have created an exclusive special edition of the Kombat XXV. From technical innovation to cultural symbolism, the Kombat™ has spanned a quarter of a century transforming football and fashion. The legend lives on.