For a long time, the handlers of Kenya's national soccer team, Harambee Stars, in utter defiance of style and good taste have gone through a whole color spectrum in search of the national team uniform.

Harambee Stars have played in green jerseys, red and white stripes, all red, all white and motley of other colors.

"Most countries the world over are easily recognizable in their national team strips, which are usually two sets. One is the home strip and the other is the away strip that they use when there is a likelihood of clash of colors with the opponent," David 'Kamoga' Ochieng, former Kenyan national team goalkeeper said on Monday.

"In a country like Brazil, wearing the gold and blue strip is revered, and if capped for the first time a player must go through pep-talk session on the value and meaning of wearing a Brazilian national jersey," Ochieng added.

In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup, Brazil almost didn't qualify to Japan and South Korea. They experienced difficulties, losing against minnows like Bolivia and Peru.

Despite sacking coach Vanderlei Luxembourgo and using over 50 different players, it did not stop them losing.

When Phil Scolari took over, the first thing he did say was that his players were burdened by the weight of the yellow shirts, so he changed the team into the away blue all strip.

That halted the losing trend and Brazil went on to win their fifth World Cup - the only country to ever do so.

The Azzuris of Italy have their blue; France, the tri-color; Nigeria, all green; Egypt, all white. What then is the Kenyan national team color?

The insolently fluorescent-looking Harambee Stars surely have to take heart even amongst its most adoring fans. Sports uniforms are important for both the team that wears them as well as for the team's audience.

During their match against Comoro last week, Harambee stars wore white jerseys and red shorts, a stark contrast from other colours they have worn previously.

The uniforms athletes wear during games not only help to identify them, but also serve to create a kind of team identity that is often raised to the level of a brand that the vast majority of people recognize.

"We all have our favorite players on professional teams who have, for us, become associated with certain team colors and a certain jersey number," Ochieng said.

These iconic figures have been used by advertisers for years and have been wildly successful. In many sports, company logos appear right on sports uniforms!

"Just watch! At Brazil 2014, football fans will be able to instantly recognize various teams by their uniforms even before their names are floated," Ochieng said. Endi

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