How to choose soccer bags

With the SPL already underway, and the rest of the top leagues in Europe getting set to begin the 2011/2012 season, here is a guide to purchasing the kit that will help you to shake those pre-season cobwebs.

What's available?

Any good sports coach will tell you that it does not matter if you are a professional or an amateur, the key to success is having the right kit. There is a vast choice of soccer apparel available, but the following are essential if you are going to be involved in physical team play: -Football shirt
-Football shorts
-Football Socks
-Football boots
-Shin pads
-Sports bag (duffle bag/gym bag/backpack) All of the above is available in varying sizes, age groups and colours. When deciding upon a shirt, there are several options to consider. Do you want the latest shirt of the club you support, with the name and number of your favourite player on the back? Or perhaps the strip of your national team? Or maybe a completely customised shirt, for the team you play for, or simply for individuality? If funds allow, why not all three? Criteria for purchasing soccer bags When deciding upon what sort of bag to buy, the user must first determine the functions required of it. Questions you should ask yourself are: -What size do I need the bag to be?
-What do I want to carry in the bag?
-Do I want it to be multipurpose?
-What colour do I want?
-What brand do I want?
-Does it need a drinks holder?
- Should it be waterproof?
- Do I want one with a detachable shoulder strap?
-Do I want one that can be initialled and have a club badge stitched into it? Obviously, if you were to type all of the criteria into a site's search bar, it would most likely bring up zero results. However, by beginning with the size, or if you already have a brand in mind, you can narrow down the search. Once an ideal bag has been found, it would be wise to shop around to, in case it can be purchased cheaper elsewhere.

Where to purchase

With summer sales now on at (.coms) Sportsdirect , Clublinefootball, Prodirectsoccer, Kitbag, and Subsidesports and (.co.uk) Directsoccer, now may be a good time to snatch a bargain. However, whilst their prices are competitive, Soccerdirectfc.co.uk boldly claim on the top of their homepage, 'WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN ON PRICE'. Few of these sites offer next day delivery, so an alternative is always to try your local sports outlets. The only problem with this method is that the options are not as vast.