Article
Red-y to win it! Study shows red hot support for England kit change
Published: Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 12:30
A new study published today by Jet2 has shown that England supporters are calling for the team to wear red this summer, with almost two thirds (62%) saying they feel England do better when wearing red.
The poll of 2,000 England fans shows how much the colour red matters to them, with over half (54%) saying red should be the colour that England wear for major tournaments, with 43% choosing white, 2% choosing blue and 1% opting for grey.
The study found that respondents associate England teams wearing red with a number of positive attributes compared to wearing white. These include success (48% for red vs. 41% for white), teamwork (50% for red vs. 42% for white), inspiring confidence (42% for red vs. 33% for white), determination (55% for red vs. 41% for white) and, importantly for tournament football, bringing good luck (55% for red vs. 33% for white).
In addition, over half (60%) think red is a more iconic colour, with the red 1966 kit coming out as the most favoured kit of all time (43%) ahead of the 1990 white kit (23%).
Further research, mapping England’s performance in the tournament since 1966, suggests that that respondents might be onto something.
- The data shows that England have won or drawn 79% of their fixtures when wearing red, with the equivalent figure in white or blue at 75%.
- England score more on average when wearing in red, averaging 1.5 goals per game compared with 1.4 in white.
- When it comes to success and luck, the team’s only penalty shootout victory in the tournament came in 2018 against Colombia, when England were wearing red…
- … As did England’s only major tournament victory in 1966, when England wore red.
The study has been published by Jet2, as the company prepares for its own busy summer, with its famous Red Team of Customer Helpers ready to look after customers on their well-deserved holidays.
It has revealed that there’s more at play than just the colour of the team’s shirt when it comes to footballing success, with over a third (39%) of fans believing they can ‘jinx’ a match, and 42% saying they’re ‘very superstitious’. Most common superstitions amongst fans are wearing a lucky shirt (43%), not sitting in the same place (34%), or wearing a specific colour for luck (33%).
David Hills, Chief Customer Officer at Jet2, said: “At Jet2 we are famed for our winning red team so we thought now would be a great time to get the views of the nation on wearing the colour red. The response to the study is very interesting as it shows that people clearly associate wearing red with success and winning as a team, so perhaps now is the perfect time for England to line up in red. As our customers will testify, nothing beats the winning red team, so why not see if there can be another team in red enjoying major success this summer?”
