All eight Canadian Premier League 2022 primary kits will be revealed on Thursday, and they will be sporting brand new letters and numbers.

The new collegiate font is inspired by the Canadian men’s national team’s achievements in 1985, when they qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first, and so far only, time. The tribute comes in a year where Canada is in a good position to return to the World Cup for the first time since then.

The letters and numbers will also feature a horizontal line that represents the 49th parallel, a circle of latitude that goes across Canada and through all 10 provinces. It is meant to unify players across the league, and symbolize Canada’s connection from east to west.

Inside the numbers are a CPL crest, as was the case with the previous lettering that this one replaces, and sublimated crests throughout the background of the number.

“When we launched the league, we launched with what I would say is a classic font,” said Roy Nasrallah, the Canadian Premier League’s Vice-President, Marketing. “This font stayed with the league for three seasons, but we looked at 2022 and we said that this is a time where we need to introduce something unique. We took inspiration from two stories, the iconic moment back in 1985 with Canada qualifying for the World Cup, and the 49th parallel, which is a great inspiration and connects all the provinces from coast-to-coast.

“I’m really proud of the design team at the league office for bringing this to life and bringing something new and meaningful to the names and numbers.”

All eight of the 2022 primary kits will be revealed on Thursday, March 17th. When they are revealed, kits will be available for purchase at CanPL.ca/shop.