The Levante UD, the oldest club in the city of Valencia, is already ‘kicking off’ the coming season by presenting the 2023–24 third kit. With its exclusive design, the jersey celebrates the Centenary of the Coronation of the Virgen de los Desemparados, proclaimed in 1961 by the then Pope John XXIII as the patron saint of Valencia and the entire Valencian region. A shirt steeped in significance, which ‘los Granotas’ will wear as early as their home match on 15 May against UD Ibiza, just two days before the exact centenary anniversary.

The city has a deeply felt connection with the Virgen de los Desemparados (Virgin of the Helpless), which is powerfully expressed by the graphics, from symbols and from the words featured on the commemorative shirt. The message of environmental sustainability is also loud and clear, with the kits made entirely from Eco Fabric, a fabric made from 100% recycled plastic, confirming the green philosophy shared by Macron and Levante UD.

The team, like the city itself, is deeply involved in the celebrations marking the centenary of the Coronation. It all dates back to 12 May 1923, when the solemn Coronation of the Virgen de los Desamparados was celebrated in Valencia on an altar erected at the end of the Puente del Real, in the presence of King Alfonso XIII, Queen Victoria Eugenia and thousands of Valencians. The Virgin’s original crown was made from gold and jewellery donated by the citizens of Valencia, but it had to be remade in 1941 following its theft during the Spanish Civil War. As part of the centenary celebrations, instead of a physical crown, the Virgin is to be presented with a Crown of Charity, that is, a collection of donations to support the Basilica’s various charitable projects, specifically aimed at those homeless people which the Virgin protects.

Levante UD is honouring and celebrating this important local event with a shirt in the colour sky-blue, with a polo-style collar and sleeve cuffs in navy blue with a fine scarlet stripe. The inside of the back of the neck is personalised with the traditional azulgrana colours, the club crest and the inscription Designed in Bologna to certify and highlight how each garment is conceived, designed and developed in the’Macron Headquarters.

The design feature that characterises the shirt is the embossed pattern which features the Centenary logo repeated all over, and the motto “Always in my heart” (one of the lines from the Coronation anthem written by the Valencian José Maria Juan Garcia) hot-stamped in the bottom right-hand corner of the shirt. The same words, alternating with the club crest, are then repeated in the silicone tape placed on the inner hem of the knitted fabric. The sky-blue shorts with a navy blue drawstring echo the graphic theme featuring the Centenary logo, whilst the sky-blue socks, with a navy blue top edge and a thin scarlet horizontal stripe, feature the two significant dates of this important city event on the calves: 1923 – 2023.

Levante UD’s “Third” kit has a fit Slim fit. The main fabric used to make it is Eco Softlock and the inclusion of inserts made of Eco Mesh make the garment particularly light and perfectly breathable.