CHRIS LAKEY The worst-kept secret of Norwich City's close season was out in the open last night when the Canaries' new strip was revealed. While the home kit is essentially the same the away kit is now all white, and both bear the name of the club's newest sponsors, low-cost airline Flybe.

CHRIS LAKEY

The worst-kept secret of Norwich City's close season was out in the open last night when the Canaries' new strip was revealed.

While the home kit is essentially the same - bar a few World Cup-inspired tweaks here and there - the away kit is now all white, and both bear the name of the club's newest sponsors, low-cost airline Flybe.

All was revealed at a fashion show at Carrow Road, with City stars Darren Huckerby and Craig Fleming the kings of the catwalk.

Huckerby modelled the home strip - the traditional yellow and green design with a rounded neck, while Fleming donned the away kit, a V-neck design in white with green trim.

A variation in the cut and some extension to the length of the shorts owes much to the kits that will be on display in Germany over the next few weeks - and slight changes have also been made to the design of the ladies' shirts to make them more fashionable.

"It's very nice," said Huckerby. "The tops fit well and I like the longer shorts - maybe the referees will see more of the shirt pulling I get."

There was never any chance of the home kit changing but the new away strip means fans can wave goodbye to the jinxed two-tone green kit which was in introduced at the beginning of the 2004-05 Premiership campaign, but brought only bad luck.

City played 13 away matches in it, and lost eight, drew four and, finally, on the 13th and final attempt, won one - at Cardiff on April 22.

With City fans digging deep to buy around 25,000 replica kits each season, launching any new design is an important way of filling the coffers - a process begins when the first batch of 4,000 kits arrives in late July, exclusively reserved for season ticket holders and members, with prices at £39.99 for adults and £29.99 for children.

New kit launches have traditionally been the cause of headaches for parents around the country - and much controversy as clubs stand accused of profiteering.

But City, having been forced to change the home shirt after only one season due to the change of sponsor, have sought to alleviate the burden with special offers - season ticket discount has doubled from 10pc to 20pc and member discount from 5pc to 10pc for supporters who return last year's home shirt when buying a new home shirt, before September 30. And all under-16s bringing in last season's home shirt and buying a new home shirt prior to September 30 can claim a free football.

All returned shirts will be donated to Four-Four-Show, a registered charity set-up by Norfolk man Gareth Potter. The shirts will be sent to clothe orphans in Bosnia and Africa.

City's director of sales and marketing Andrew Cullen said: "We hope that supporters will be pleased with the design of the new Flybe home and away shirts and we cannot wait to see the new kits being worn both on the pitch and in the streets."

City's new shirt sponsorship deal with Flybe was announced last month and will last for two years.

Simon Lilley, Director of Marketing for Flybe, said the deal meant Flybe was delivering on its promise of long-term commitment to the Club and the Norwich community.

"We are delighted to be the Canaries official new shirt sponsor and hope to see the Club fly up the league table in the players' new strip next season," he said.

"At Flybe we are dedicated football supporters and are looking forward to supporting Norwich City over the next two years."