The first football session is the one where parents overspend or underspend, and both cost the same in the end. Buy everything a full academy player owns and most of it sits unused if the sport doesn't stick; buy too little and your child is the one sent off the pitch for missing shin guards. This kids' football kit checklist separates the four things needed on day one from the six that can genuinely wait.
The Four Essentials for a First Football Session
If you buy nothing else, buy these:
| Item | Why it's day one | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Training shirt | Worn every session | Polyester, not cotton |
| Football shorts | Worn every session | Elastic waist a child can manage alone |
| Knee-high socks | Hold shin guards in place | Cushioned foot, firm ribbed leg |
| Shin guards | Required by most academies | Slip-in, sized to the shin length |
Trainers are fine for the first few sessions - proper boots only become necessary once the child is training on grass regularly and the coach asks for them.
Step 1: The Training Shirt
Start with a breathable training tee rather than an official printed match jersey. It costs less, washes the same, and does an identical job for the first months - and if the sport doesn't stick, you haven't bought a printed shirt with a number on it. A polyester top from the football collection or a plain one from the sports t-shirts range both work. The one thing not to compromise on is the fabric: cotton absorbs sweat and gets heavy within twenty minutes of running.
Step 2: Football Shorts
Look for a lightweight, quick-dry short with an elastic waistband your child can manage without help - a drawcord they can't tie themselves becomes your job in a changing room every week. Football shorts sit at mid-thigh and are cut closer through the leg than basketball shorts, which matters for sprinting. The shorts collection covers both plain training shorts and matched pairs.
Step 3: Knee-High Football Socks
Football socks aren't a style choice - they're what holds shin guards against the leg. Ordinary ankle socks leave the guard sliding within minutes, which is why academies won't let a child train without them. Buy two pairs rather than one: socks are the item that gets wet, muddy and lost most often across a season.
Step 4: Shin Guards
A basic slip-in pair is enough for training. Size by shin length rather than age: the guard should cover from just below the knee to just above the ankle bone, with no gap at either end. Anything longer digs in when the child crouches; anything shorter leaves the most-kicked part of the shin exposed.
Step 5: The Kit Bag
A simple sports bag is what stops a child arriving with one boot and no socks. It also keeps wet, muddy kit out of the rest of the car. A bag like the Junior Pro Bag is sized for a child to carry themselves, and the wider bags range covers larger options for children carrying boots as well.
What Can Wait Until the Sport Sticks
- Football boots - trainers cover the first few sessions on most surfaces.
- A printed match jersey - only needed once the child is selected for matches.
- A second full kit - useful when training goes past twice a week, not before.
- A goalkeeper's gloves - unless the child has already been put in goal.
- A tracksuit or warm-up layer - buy in October, not in September.
- A water bottle with the club badge - any bottle works exactly as well.
Buying the Kit as a Set Instead of Piece by Piece
If you're starting from nothing, a matched shirt-and-shorts set is usually cheaper than buying the two separately and removes the guesswork of pairing colours and fabric weights. The Boys Basic Kit and Girls Basic Kit both cover the top two items on this checklist in one purchase, leaving only socks and shin guards to add.
Packing the Bag So Nothing Gets Forgotten
Pack the bag the night before, not on the way out. Keep shin guards inside the socks so the two never separate, put the clean kit in first and leave the top of the bag for a towel and a bottle. After the session, the muddy kit goes straight back in the bag rather than into the boot of the car - the single habit that prevents most lost socks.
Sizing the Kit for a Growing Child
Buy the size that fits now. In football specifically, a shirt bought two sizes large is a handhold for an opponent and flaps during a sprint, and shorts that slide need pulling up mid-play. Measure chest and height before ordering, and expect to replace the shirt each school term for children under ten - they outgrow kit far faster than they wear it out. If your child sits between sizes across boys' and girls' ranges, follow the chest measurement for tops and the height for shorts.
How a First Football Kit's Cost Changes by Age Band
For a child under seven the whole outlay is a matched set, one pair of socks and slip-in guards - four items, one of which covers two of them. Trainers do the rest. From eight to eleven the shirt becomes the recurring cost: children in this band outgrow a top roughly every school term while socks and guards last a full year, so budget two or three shirts across a season and one of everything else. From twelve upward sizes approach adult cut, prices step up with them, and boots stop being optional - this is the band where footwear alone can cost more than everything else on the checklist combined. Plan the first purchase around the band your child is in now, not the one they are about to enter.
Staging Kit Purchases Across an Egyptian Season
The season here runs from the back-to-school period in September through to the heat of June, with the only real kit changeover falling in December and January. Stage the buying in three steps: the four essentials in September; a second shirt and shorts in October, once you know how many sessions a week the child is actually attending; a long-sleeve layer in December for early-morning training on exposed pitches. Holding the second set back until October is the single decision that saves the most money - a good share of children stop after a month, and a second set bought in week one is a second set never worn.
What the Club Supplies Compared to What Parents Buy
Ask before buying anything. Most Egyptian academies supply the match strip and keep it between games - numbered shirts are club property because numbers are assigned to positions, not to children. What almost none of them supply is training kit, socks, shin guards or a bag, and those are the items on this checklist you will certainly be paying for yourself. Get the answer from the coach or the academy office at registration; a parents' WhatsApp group is not a reliable source for what the club actually provides.
Kit for a Child Put in Goal
Goalkeepers need three things the rest of the squad does not. Gloves, sized by palm width and replaced more often than any other item because the latex grip wears off with use. A long-sleeve top rather than short, since keepers take repeated contact with the ground - a long-sleeve shirt from the football collection covers it. And a longer short instead of the standard mid-thigh cut: a knee-length pair such as the Boys Knee-Length Sports Shorts takes the diving that shreds a shorter one. Buy none of this until the coach has actually put the child in goal for more than one session.
Washing and Turnaround Between Two Sessions a Week
With training on Sunday and Wednesday, one set is enough only if it is washed the evening it comes home. Cold wash, inside out, no fabric softener - softener coats the polyester and blocks the wicking the fabric was bought for. Hang it in shade rather than direct sun; Egyptian sun bleaches a coloured shirt faster than the washing machine wears it out. Anything still damp at bedtime will not be dry by morning on a humid coastal or Delta evening, which is the practical argument for a second set once sessions pass twice a week. Socks wash with the kit; the shin guards themselves get wiped down, not soaked.
When to Replace Each Item of Football Kit
Shirts and shorts go on fit - replace when the hem stops reaching the waistband or the shoulder seam sits down the arm, which is roughly every term under the age of ten. Socks go on the foot cushioning rather than the leg: once the sole is thin the sock has stopped doing its job even if the ribbing still looks new. Shin guards go on size and on cracks in the shell, and a cracked guard is worse than none because the split edge concentrates the impact. A bag outlasts all of it - something like the Anja Sack Bag will see several kits out, which is why buying one decent bag once is cheaper than replacing a weak one every season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a child need for their first football training session?
A breathable training shirt, football shorts, knee-high socks and shin guards. Trainers are fine for the first few sessions; boots can wait.
Do kids need football boots straight away?
No. Trainers cover early sessions on most surfaces. Buy boots once training moves onto grass regularly or the coach asks for them.
Why do football socks need to be knee-high?
Because they hold the shin guards in place. Ankle socks let the guard slide within minutes, and most academies won't allow training without proper socks.
How do I size shin guards for a child?
By shin length, not age. The guard should reach from just below the knee to just above the ankle bone, with no gap at either end.
Is a matched kit cheaper than buying the shirt and shorts separately?
Usually yes, and it guarantees the two pieces pair properly in fabric weight and colour. Compare the set price against the two individual prices before deciding.
Shop the Football Kit Checklist at Anja
Anja's football collection covers training shirts and matched kits, the shorts range covers football shorts, and the bags collection has kit bags sized for children to carry themselves.
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