Nottingham Forest are dreaming of Champions League football next term.Nottingham Forest are dreaming of Champions League football next term.
Nottingham Forest are dreaming of Champions League football next term. | AFP via Getty Images
A look at next season’s potential Nottingham Forest kit as the City Ground club target Champions League qualification
Nottingham Forest are competing with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United for a place in next season’s Champions League in one of the surprise stories of the campaign. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sit third in the league table, five points clear of fourth placed Chelsea and six clear of the champions as they aim to qualify for Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 1981.
The City Ground club are well and truly on track to be playing football on the continent next season and are expected to bring in a whole host of glamorous names over the summer if they can get the job done in the final furlong of the campaign. Forest have experienced a meteoric rise up the table in just their third season back in the top-flight and are almost certain to get some form of Europe for the first time since the 1990s when they competed in the UEFA Cup.
With that in mind, we take a look at the ‘leaked’ Nottingham Forest home and away shirt for next season which takes a clear nod towards the 1990s in the club’s 160th anniversary year.
Nottingham Forest 2025/26 kit ‘leaked’
As per Footy Headlines - whose reliability, it must be noted, is somewhat hit and miss on X, Nottingham Forest’s home and away shirt for the 2025/26 season has been leaked.
The home shirt is a clear nod to the popular 1992-94 kit that the club wore in their first season in the Premier League while being managed by Brian Clough in his ultimately unsuccessful end to life in the City Ground after the sales of Des Walker and Teddy Sheringham.
Forest finished bottom of the league that year and were relegated for the inaugural Premier League despite having Roy Keane, Nigel Clough and Stuart Pearce all in their ranks. However, the club did experience some success in this kit as well, notably by securing an immediate return back to the top-flight with a second place finish.
The shirt features a vibrant red base adorned with pinstripes in white and dark red. The addition of a button-up collar and a shield around the crest further enhances the retro feel of the Nottingham Forest 2025-2026 home jersey, which is the club's first to include pinstripes since the 2017-18 season.
The Forest away kit takes a different approach, drawing inspiration from Nottingham's renowned lace industry. The design is predominantly off-white, incorporating subtle lace-like patterns. The logos are dark blue.
Nottingham Forest Champions League hopes assessed
Nottingham Forest are third in the Premier League and are increasingly likely to secure Champions League football due to England’s strong coefficient which could allow five teams to make Europe’s elite competition next term. Forest are on course for their highest league finish since the 1994/95 campaign when they finished third under Frank Clark in just their first term back in the top-flight with Stan Collymore shining with 22 league goals.
The Tricky Trees face a difficult away trip to Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-final before hosting Manchester United in the league. Forest then take on Aston Villa, Everton, Tottenham, Brentford, Crystal Palace and West Ham before ending the season with a potential six-pointer against European rivals Chelsea.
Read More:Chelsea's full range of 2025/26 kits 'leaked' as fans go wild for bold third shirt