Custom Field Hockey Kit Manufacturer for Clubs & Teams

What a field hockey club orders in one kit cycle

A field hockey club typically orders four groups of garments at once: playing kit, goalkeeper kit, training and warm-up wear, and off-pitch items for travel, coaches and supporters. Ordering the groups together lets the club lock one colour reference, one crest file and one sponsor layout across every garment, which is what makes next season's reorder match. ZipaSports manufactures all of these in-house in Sialkot, Pakistan, so a club is not splitting an order across a jersey printer, an embroiderer and a bag supplier.

Indoor sections add lighter indoor hockey shirts, and junior sections order junior hockey kits graded down from the adult design. The full range is listed on the field hockey teamwear page.

Fabrics and GSM that suit water-based and sand-dressed pitches

Field hockey is played on wet astroturf in cold months and dry sand-dressed pitches in warm ones, so the fabric choice follows the garment's job rather than a single club-wide standard. Match jerseys and dresses are sublimated on 100% polyester in the 140–180 GSM range; pin-dot mesh at the lighter end of that range dries fastest after a water-based pitch, while interlock at the heavier end holds its shape better under a bib or base layer.

Goalkeeper smocks and trousers are built up from the same polyester base with padding placed for hockey rather than borrowed from another sport. Where a club wants recycled fabric, GRS-certified recycled polyester is available on request; see the fabric library for the full option list.

Sublimation for playing kit, embroidery for the clubhouse

Sublimation is the default decoration for hockey jerseys, dresses, skorts and socks because the dye becomes part of the polyester and nothing sits on the surface to crack under a stick or peel in a hot wash. Stripes, hoops, gradient panels, club crest, sponsor logos, player names and numbers are all printed in the same pass, so a club is not paying per logo or per colour. Read how the process works on the dye-sublimation page.

Embroidery is used where the fabric is not sublimation-friendly or the garment is worn off the pitch: crests on quarter-zips, coaches' gilets, polos, presentation tracksuits and bench coats. Tackle twill lettering is rarely specified in hockey, but supporter hoodies and travel wear can carry a stitched club name in twill if the committee wants a heavier retail look.

Names, numbers and sponsor placement follow the club's league rules, which usually ask for a clear back number in a contrasting colour and a smaller front number for outfield players. Sponsors normally sit on the front chest, sleeves or the back below the number; umpire shirts stay sponsor-light. Send the sponsor's vector logo and the studio places it in the free 24-hour mockup, with unlimited revisions before approval. Full placement guidance is on the names, numbers and sponsor logos page.

Home, away and goalkeeper colours, in general terms

Most hockey leagues require a home kit, an away or clash kit that differs clearly from the home colours, and a goalkeeper colour that differs from both teams' outfield kit. Socks are often part of the clash check, so many clubs order a second sock colour rather than a second full kit. Umpires are expected to be distinguishable from both sides as well, which is why umpire shirts tend to be ordered in a neutral colour the club's opponents rarely wear.

In practice a club secretary sends ZipaSports the home colourway, an away colourway and a goalkeeper colourway, each matched to a Pantone reference or to a physical swatch from last season's kit. The approved references are kept on file so that a shirt ordered for a new signing mid-season sits next to the September batch without a visible shade step; minor shade tolerance between dye lots is normal and is explained plainly on the Quality Guarantee page.

Because sublimation prints any colour, an away kit in a reversed colourway costs nothing extra in decoration terms, and clubs can add a third-kit or anniversary design at the same 20–25 piece minimum per design.

Mixed sizes, youth grading and mid-season top-ups

The minimum order of 20–25 pieces per design is counted across sizes, so one design can contain, for example, a few women's XS through to men's 3XL in any split the club needs. Adult sizes run XS–5XL, women's XS–4XL, and youth sizes are graded from the same artwork so a club's junior section wears an exact scaled copy of the first-team jersey rather than a simplified version.

Hockey clubs usually field men's, women's, mixed and junior teams under one crest, which means a single order often mixes men's jerseys, women's dresses and skorts, and junior kits. Each is a separate design for MOQ purposes only if the artwork differs; a men's and a women's cut of the same design are quoted together. Clubs that want their own measurement chart can send it and the pattern room grades to it, using computerised pattern making and size grading.

Reorders follow the file on record. Lower quantities for new signings, replacement shirts or a late-joining junior are possible on request, and the club does not resend artwork: the approved mockup, Pantone references and size specification stay attached to the club's account. Sizing guidance for clubs that are unsure how to collect measurements is in the size chart guide.

Planning the order around the first fixture

The safest way to plan a hockey kit order is to count back from the first league fixture using the stated lead times, then add a week for the club to distribute kit to players. The table below is a working timeline for a club ordering standard production; express production (7–12 days at additional cost) shortens the longest step.

Added together, a club that briefs roughly ten weeks before its first match has room for a sample and a slow committee; six weeks still works on standard production with quick sign-off. Northern-hemisphere clubs brief in early summer for an autumn start; Australian clubs on a winter season brief around the turn of the year.

What the club secretary sends us

An order moves fastest when the first message contains everything the studio and pattern room need. Nothing has to be a finished design; a photo of last season's shirt and a crest file are enough for the mockup, and the rest can follow at approval.

Clubs that would rather answer questions than write a brief can send the same information in a WhatsApp conversation; a reply comes within 2 hours in business hours (Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM PKT). The team kit buying guide for clubs walks through each item in more detail.

Shipping to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Europe, and the Quality Guarantee

Finished kit ships from Sialkot by DHL, FedEx or UPS in 5–10 days to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Europe, with tracking sent on dispatch. Larger orders, such as a whole club refresh with bags and tracksuits, can go by sea in 3–6 weeks if the timeline allows. ZipaSports prepares the commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin; import duty or VAT in the destination country is normally the importer's responsibility and is explained in the import duties and shipping guide and the shipping policy.

Quality Guarantee: if any garment arrives with a manufacturing defect, we remake it free of charge — the remake goes into production within 3 days of your report. A defect means a print fault, a stitching fault, a wrong size against the approved size specification, or a wrong garment or quantity against the approved order. The secretary sends photos and the order reference on WhatsApp or email within 7 days of delivery, receives confirmation within 24 hours in business hours, and the replacement pieces ship at no charge; a credit is offered if the club prefers. Made-to-order kit carrying the club's crest cannot be returned for change of mind, so sizes should be checked on the mockup and size chart before approval.