Many of you will know that I have been supportive of Prostate Cancer UK for many years. It was therefore obvious that I would try to assist Jason Yeo as soon as I heard of his incredible initiative.

He wrote, “Good morning. I am after your help pretty please to help promote our charity campaign for PSA Prostate Cancer Testing.

We have our football advertising boards now going up in grounds across the UK, to take our message to 100000+, but we need to keep pushing.

Can you help us get our boards up in your clubs??

Prostate Cancer affects 1 in 8, including myself, and is now the most diagnosed cancer in the UK.

We need to raise awareness for testing, and the visibility of our campaign.

Huge, huge thanks to the clubs for their amazing support

Our success so far:

Plymouth Argyle

Rushall Olympic

Buckland Athletic

Stoke Gabriel

Launceston FC

Clitheroe FC

Ipplepen Athletic

In discussions with:

Shrewsbury Town

Maidstone United

Newton Spurs

Please let’s spread our campaign to all.

We are saving lives, we want to save 1000’s of lives by promoting the need for testing.

Let’s persuade your club to support our campaign

And if you see our boards please share photos to your social media to keep promoting.

Have a great season guys.”

So, if you are involved at management level with any club and would like more details, please do get in contact with Jason

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I mentioned it here that Brentford have a new kit partner and the launch is now official

100 YEARS IN RED AND WHITE – BRENTFORD LAUNCHES 2025/26 HOME KIT  

Brentford FC’s new 2025/26 home kit, marking 100 years of the club’s iconic red and white stripes is available now online and from 9am tomorrow in-store with the replica shirt price frozen at £65 for adults and reduced for juniors at £45. Our first-ever player authentic shirt will retail at £95. The first 100 junior shirts are available at Bees Superstore tomorrow for £19.25

Brentford has unveiled the club’s home kit for the 2025/26 season in partnership with new official kit partner Joma Sport S.A. 

The 2025/26 home kit proudly celebrates 100 years of Brentford’s players in red and white.  

In a club first, our men’s first team will wear a specially produced shirt for enhanced performance on the pitch known as our ‘authentic shirt’. Bees fans will have the choice of purchasing an authentic shirt worn by their favourite players, as well as a replica shirt.  

A red and white lineage 

Celebrating a century of Brentford in red and white, the new home shirt provides a modern but nostalgic take on the club’s iconic stripes. The classic collar, inspired by our original 1925 kit lace design connects this season’s shirt with our rich heritage. Our special ‘100’ centenary logo also features on the back of the shirt. Inside the collar, a commemorative ‘red & white 1925 & 2025’ printed detail offers a nod to our legacy. 

Our first authentic kit will provide our men’s team with innovative sportswear helping elevate performance on the pitch. The kit is created with a jacquard weave. Intricate designs are woven directly into the fabric rather than being printed or embroidered. This technique and the micro-mesh ventilation panels keep the kit lightweight and breathable, so our players’ bodies stay dry even during peak performance. The shirt has flat seams to enhance comfort for players.  

While our replicas have red and stripes across the back, the authentic kit features a red block to show player names and numbers clearly, in line with new Premier League regulations.  

This year’s shorts and socks include unique styling details as part of marking 100 years of red and white. Shorts feature a red stripe on the left and white stripe on the right, while socks are embroidered with ‘1925’ in reference to our original kit.  

Reflecting our commitment to sustainability, both the authentic and replica kits are made from 100 per cent recycled polyester, which helps reduce our environmental impact. Using recycled polyester prevents materials from being sent to landfills and requires less energy than conventional polyester.   

The men’s first team shirt features our principal partner, Hollywoodbets on the front, and Cazoo as our sleeve partner. Brentford Women, Brentford B team and junior shirts see Cazoo as our front-of-shirt partner and PensionBee on the sleeve. 

Keeping football affordable 

Fans can purchase both authentic and replica kits online now and in the Bees Superstore from 9am tomorrow.  

In line with our continued commitment to making football more affordable, the club has frozen the price of the adult 2025/26 replica shirts at £65. Junior shirts will be available at a reduced price of £45, down from last season. 

To celebrate the centenary year, the first 100 junior replica shirts sold in the Bees Superstore tomorrow will be priced at just £19.25 (limited to two per transaction*). Initially, infant kits (ages six to 24 months) and junior mini kits (ages three to six) will only be available in-store (from tomorrow). These kits will be released online soon, and we will inform fans when they are available to purchase.

Marking 100 years of red and white, and with our Hollywoodbets partnership ending after 2025/26 in line with the Premier League’s voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors, this season’s kit will follow a one-year cycle. Next season, our intention is to return to a two-year cycle to keep our kits affordable and sustainable, subject to our partnership agreements. 

Side by side, since 1925 

From unforgettable goals to our legendary players, to our unwavering support from fans and historic wins, the home kit launches with a campaign film tracing moments in Brentford’s history over the last 100 years. 

The film features Igor Thiago, Nathan Collins, Keane Lewis-Potter, Gustavo Nunes and Kevin Schade from our men’s first team and Brentford Women players, including Ashley Cheatley and Regan Graver. Legends such as Allan Cockram, Marcus Gayle, Amy Crook and Karleigh Osborne and some of our fans all make an appearance. 

Fran Jones, Brentford’s commercial director said: “We’re very proud to launch a centenary home kit that recognises Brentford’s history of wearing red and white stripes. This is our first shirt with our new kit partner Joma and includes our first-ever player authentic shirt, giving our fans more choice than ever before.”  

Steve Watts, Brentford’s marketing services director added: “This season we chose to mark 100 years of both our trademark stripes and our incredible supporters remaining side-by-side, through the more challenging times, to the Premier League and an exciting future. 

“A commitment to affordable football remains at the heart of Brentford’s values. We hope frozen adult prices and reduced junior prices enable as many of our fans as possible to enjoy wearing this shirt which marks a new era for the club.” 

Marina López, CEO of Joma Sport, stated: “We are very proud to present the first kit that Joma has developed for Brentford at such a special moment as the centenary of the red and white shirt. Furthermore, we do so by bringing our added value: cutting-edge technology, exceptional quality, and a strong commitment to sustainability.” 

Our centenary home kit can be purchased online now or in the Bees Superstore

*Find out more about our Bees Superstore junior shirt offer. 

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I was talking with the Shirt’s great friend, Dave Baldwin at Papilios Creative this week and he mentioned he had added a couple of new stadiums to his portfolio. I would be rude of me not to showcase them.

So, here we have for example Lords Cricket Ground (above), Everton’s new stadium and a new Villa Park. (New watercolour and not new built stadium to confirm!) I thought Wycombe’s Adams Park was especially impressive.

All are available from his website and, of course, when you are there do check the Priestfield Stadium which is obviously his greatest work and I imagine you will want it over your bed, in your study or your man-cave! All true lovers of the beautiful game will be fighting for a signed print, I am sure!

These prints make a great present or a truly unique souvenir of a visit. You can see his entire portfolio here Enjoy!

EDIT: apologies, Dave. I said I would confirm that Dave can do a similar work of art for your stadium. From the biggest to the smallest grounds, Dave can make something beautiful. Ask him via his website or Facebook

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Well, it looks like summer is here as the mercury passes 30degrees. It is an important summer of football and first off, I must congratulate the England U21 for winning the Euro 21 Championship or the UEFA European Under-21 Championship to give it its full title. The Young Lions beat Germany 3-2 in the final and Liverpool’s Harvey Elliot walked away with the Player of the Tournament trophy as well. The tragedy is that he comes from Chertsey which is pretty much walking distance to my beloved FC Deportivo Galicia at Heathrow. Our scouts missed that one! I think QPR and Fulham’s scouts might be uneasy too!

No mention here of the Club World Cup in South Canada/North Mexico which is gathering precisely zero interest among fans in England. I have not seen a single match so far, opting to watch paint dry instead.

So, congratulations to Lee Carsley and his young men. Winning it in 2021 was impressive and to win it for a second time, elevates him to almost legendary status.

Sarina Wiegman

Meanwhile the Lionesses are off to Switzerland with  Sarina Wiegman for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland. There are high hopes after all the recent success but first of all they have to escape a “Group of Death with Wales, France and the Netherlands. Then they would have to navigate one of Poland, Denmark, Sweden or Germany! So, they are going to have to do it the hard way.

In honour of the tournament, the BBC One Show managed to track down all the members of the squad Harry Batt took to Mexico. He managed the British Independents, an unsanctioned women’s national team that represented England at the unofficial 1971 Women’s World Cup and was banned for life from football by the Football Association (FA). Some of these ladies had not seen each other in 48 years. It was obviously emotional for them but it just shows how far the Women’s game has come in the past 50 years. Batt was barred from football sine die and the players themselves got three month bans because the FA did not want the women playing football. Quite incredible!

It focused on the Storyville documentary “In August 1971, football teams from England, Argentina, Mexico, France, Denmark and Italy gathered in Mexico City for a watershed tournament. With lavish sponsorship, extensive TV coverage, merchandise on every street corner and over 100,000 roaring fans at the historic Azteca stadium, media outlets treated the players like rock stars. 

Despite being one of the most groundbreaking moments in footballing history, most people have never heard of it – because the players were all women. 

This is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary tournament, told through the fearless voices of the women who took part and including recently uncovered and never-seen-before archive footage. 

The tournament was the flame that lit the touch paper for the explosion of women’s football around the globe and in the UK. It was one of the catalysts that led to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 final, when England beat Germany 2-1.”

… and being as this site is about shirts, here are the Nike tops. The white, I quite like. The black? No, just no!

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BRENTFORD ANNOUNCE INDEED AS NEW OFFICIAL TRAINING WEAR PARTNER

Brentford Football Club have agreed a new partnership with Indeed, the world’s number one jobsite and a leading job matching and hiring platform, as the club’s new official training wear partner and official recruitment partner, beginning from the 2025/26 season. 

Indeed will feature on all training kits worn by Brentford men’s first team and B team, women’s first team, academy teams and coaching staff. As official front of training wear partner, Brentford’s men’s first team players will wear Indeed branding in training sessions and during warm-ups ahead of every Premier League and cup competition fixture. 

Indeed will also be supporting fans with guidance on how to progress in their professional careers and will deliver career-focused

projects with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust aimed at upskilling jobseekers in west London and matching them with employment opportunities. 

Additionally, Brentford players across all senior teams and academy teams will have a unique opportunity to use Indeed’s resources and guidance to access career support in preparation for life outside of football. 

The partnership will give Indeed rights to create bespoke content with Brentford men’s and women’s first team players and coaching staff, as well as matchday branding and in-stadium advertising, and a strong presence at Brentford’s training ground, the Robert Rowan Performance Centre. 

Fran Jones, Brentford FC commercial director, said: “We’re very proud of our track record of intelligent recruitment and smart decision-making that empowers us to compete at the highest level. Indeed has earned its place as a leading hiring platform with the same approach. It’s a perfect match and we’re excited to see what we can learn from each other. 

“In everything we do, there’s always a human element. This partnership has an incredible opportunity to uplift our community with new skills and job opportunities, as well as help Brentford players of all ages plan for life beyond their football career.” 

Conor McCarthy, vice president of sales at Indeed, added: “We’re thrilled to become Brentford’s official recruitment partner and training wear partner. Like Brentford, we believe in the power of data and human insight to make great decisions – whether that’s building a football team or a successful business. Together, we look forward to learning from each other,  and helping more people and teams reach their potential.” 

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So, we are all off to Chelmsford tomorrow and I know Greg Lansdowne, the organiser, is looking for a record event. Should be a nice trip if the weather keeps fine.

Andy Trasler pinged me earlier and said, “It may be the close season and news may be thin on the ground but I can now reveal a sneak peak at a project I’ve been working on in conjunction with Northampton Town FC.

Now, most people know my passion for Cobblers shirts so now I can reveal I will be releasing at 2025/26 shirt calendar.

It will run from August 2025 to July 2026 so as to encompass the entire football season.

The price will be £11 if collected from Cobblers Collectibles cabin or from the NTFC Club Shop.

An online sale price will be confirmed very shortly along with more pictures etc.

All profits will support the work of Northampton Town Community Trust.”

It sounds a great idea and my mind is flitting to do a FC Deportivo Galicia one as a fundraiser.
Watch this space.

Andy has also sorted out ALL the gaps in O-M’s wants for Northampton Town programmes. He IS “Mr Northampton.” TOP MAN! Still need help on a few clubs despite Herculean efforts by Stephen Morris and Brian at Brian’s Football Memorabilia. Crawley Town anybody? Scunthorpe?

I was also talking to Lee Hermitage at NWM Football yesterday and he tells me he has some very exciting new stock. Some unique Watford memorabilia, some full seasons’ collections and some fine examples of kits will all be on his display stands.

He added that if you can’t make Saturday, he will be in Hackney East London on Sunday. (Below)
Spurs, WHU and Orient fans…it’s your opportunity!

So, all in all it’s looking like a BIG weekend. Whatever you do….enjoy!

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Well, here’s something different. This squad photo of the English Lionesses popped up on Facebook. Nothing unusual about that but the shirts they are wearing are those of their first clubs. What a nice touch, I thought.

Who are you?

• Alnwick Town FC (Lucy Bronze)

• Ardwick FC (Khiara Keating)

• Astley and Tyldesley (Ella Toone)

• Bearsted Girls (Alessia Russo)

• Brandon Groves AFC (Michelle Agyemang)

• California Girls (Beth Mead)

• Cambridge City (Lucy Parker)

• Chadderton Grasshoppers (Anna Moorhouse)

• Ecclesall Rangers (Esme Morgan)

• Elloughton Blackburn FC (Jessica Park)

• Epsom Eagles (Lauren James)

• Furness Rovers (Georgia Stanway)

• Mossley Hill (Missy Bo Kearns)

• North Walsham FC (Lauren Hemp)

• Northfield Sports Association (Alex Greenwood)

• Old Xavs (Grace Clinton)

• Olga Primary School (Lotte Wubben-Moy)

• Pearson Juniors (Keira Walsh)

• Queens Park Rangers (Chloe Kelly)

• Scots Sport and Social Club (Leah Williamson)

• St Martins AC (Maya Le Tissier)

• Villareal CF (Hannah Hampton)

• Warndon Villages Boys (Laura Blindkilde Brown)

• Warwick Juniors FC (Jess Carter)

• West Kirby United FC (Niamh Charles)

• Weston Colts (Sophie Baggaley)

• Wimbledon Little League (Aggie Beever-Jones)

It would be interesting to see if the male prima donnas would do the same!
Here’s hoping!

…and whilst we are on the matter

Are you hosting a #BigFootballDay, powered by The National Lottery? If not, what are you waiting for? Sign up today to host your own

Whether you’re welcoming new players or celebrating your football family, it’s the perfect chance to bring your club together.

Find out more: https://www.englandfootball.com/bigfootballday

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Essex Retro Football Show Preview

Spurs legend Steve Perryman is the special guest at the next Essex Retro Football Show in Chelmsford.

Taking place at Essex County Cricket Club’s Ambassador Cruise Line Ground on Saturday June 28^th, Tottenham’s record appearance maker will be part of a jam-packed event celebrating football nostalgia.

Perryman will be in attendance from around 11am-1pm, signing Futera trading cards for upcoming collections as well as meeting show attendees. The north London club’s long-serving captain will also have three books available on the day, including ‘Sir Bill’ – dedicated to the life of double-winning manager Bill Nicholson.  

Joining the usual throng of dealers, selling everything from football shirts to programmes and stickers to Subbuteo, will be the 30^th Anniversary Corinthian Convention.

The mini-figures, that first shot to fame in the mid-‘90s showcasing England’s Euro 96 hopefuls, will be showcased on a further 25 tables, requiring the addition of the Scrutton Bland Premier Suite to be in use alongside the Pavilion.

Show organiser Greg Lansdowne is excited about the growth of a Show that only began in 2023:

“After starting out in Loughton, the Essex Retro Football Show has gone from strength to strength since moving base to Chelmsford last year. Having a guest of Steve Perryman’s calibre is a huge boost to the event and I am sure he will be well-received by supporters of all clubs for everything he has achieved in the game.”  

The Essex Retro Football Show runs from 10.30am-2pm, entry is free and a fully-licensed bar will be in operation in the Pavilion (the bar will remain open until 4pm).     

Further details are available on greglansdowne.co.uk and updates will appear on the Essex Retro Football Show and 30^th Anniversary Corinthian Convention Facebook pages as well as @panini_book on X.

I shall be there searching for those last few elusive programmes for the social history project being conducted by O-M Matihalti in Finland – one programme per season, per club from 1967 to 2016. Yes, 50 years of programmes all being collated for posterity.

www.theshirt2010.co.uk/uncategorized/o-m-matihalti

If you think you can help O-M, whether you are at Chelmsford or not, please do not hesitate to shout.

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Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Games are still going on with some ridiculous Club World Cup and, more importantly, the Women are in Switzerland for the Euros 2025. Is it the end of 2024/2025 season or are we now 25/26? I think my first pre-season friendly is June 28th at Bracknell (well, Sandhurst) and all around us clubs are announcing new friendlies and, of course, launching their new shirts. So, it’s all a bit confusing.

Let’s have a look at some of the early announcements. Obviously, pride of place goes to Gillingham (above) who have three new outfield shirts for their promotion push. I do not hate them as much as I did last week and by the time we are earning three points in them each week, I am sure they will be OK. Brentford has announced a new kit supplier, JOMA, but there is no sign yet of the shirt. It’s JOMA. I expect something good.

I think Bradford Park Avenue’s new offer is quite smart and likewise I am pretty keen on this Wealdstone shirt. Why it’s taken at an underground station is open to discussion but I think the colours work. The photo in the stands shows off the white, green, yellow and black quite well, I think. Good luck to the Yorkshire club. Likewise Charlton Athletic’s traditional red (below) seems very smart.

Still waiting for a FC Deportivo Galicia shirt. Watch this space.

Margate’s is as always bold and a big shout out to Slade’s Noddy Holder who kindly sponsors a local kids’ team. Good work, Noddy. “It’s Fooooooooooooooooooootball.”

I will be adding more in the next few days so please feel free to forward me photos of the best (and the worst) for 25/26. Thanks.

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Clare with the Women’s Euro Trophy

Now that the season is over, I thought I would catch up with Clare at She Can Kick it to see what is happening in the women’s game.

She kindly sent some random thoughts. Much appreciated, Clare.

Women’s football is still a small community so you can virtually “bump” into other members a lot online. This week I found myself part of a (minor) conversation with former England captain Carol Thomas (who very generously told me her story for She Can Kick It) and former Swedish captain Anette Börjesson. Both women captained their countries in the first UEFA-backed Euros final in 1984.

I did slightly embarrass myself with Anette though. I’d shared a post, by Carol, on LinkedIn, about the 1984 final – the very first women’s tournament UEFA put on. Anette commented on it that she was there, but didn’t elaborate.

I thought I recognised her name but ignored my instincts and asked her what it was like to be a spectator at the final? She replied: “well I was watching… and playing as the captain of the Swedish team”.

Cue a red-faced me!

But what a time to be alive: I was speaking to both captains of the very first UEFA-backed Women’s Euros. Captains who played a final in 1984, as I was falling in love with football as a 8/9-year-old. Captains whose posters would have been on my walls if that was a thing back then. Mind blown!

NOW

Arsenal won the Champions League again, beating the mighty Barcelona who didn’t look like they could believe what was happening! What a joy to watch the Gunners perform so well and show all their heart and soul to beat the favourites. Did you watch?

Women’s football has now turned its collective attention to this summer’s Euros and on Thursday Sarina Weigman announced her 23-woman squad.

Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse

Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy

Midfielders: Grace Clinton, Jess Park, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh

Forwards: Michelle Agyemang, Aggie Beever-Jones, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo

13 of these players lifted the trophy 3 years ago, but 7 will be appearing at their first major tournament. I’m sure other teams will think this makes the Lionesses weaker but at least one of these players is going to become a huge star this summer.

There are some big names missing: Mary Earps shocked everyone by retiring from international duty; Fran Kirby retired when she knew she wouldn’t be on the plane to Switzerland; and most concerning, Millie Bright withdrew herself from selection because of mental and physical exhaustion. A brave decision but one I wish she hadn’t had to make. Maybe it will lead to better conversations about looking after players.

Then

Let’s have a quick look back to Euro 2022 when women’s football changed forever. Here are some of the mind-blowing stats:

The final attracted 80,203 spectators to Wembley. This was a record for a Euros final, higher than any other Euros final – men’s or women’s – in history

It was the tournament with the most goals scored by a single team: England scored 22 goals. UEFA have handily bundled them into 1 video for us: https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/history/video/027a-167063e914fe-76d9f11cb4a4-1000–all-of-england-s-women-s-euro-2022-goals/

England smashed a load of other goalscoring records too: most goals in a group stage (14), most goals in a first half (6 against Norway), biggest win (8-0 against Norway), fewest goals conceded in a group stage (0 – equals Germany’s previous record)

Sarina Weigman was the first coach to win her first 11 Women’s Euros games having guided Netherlands and then England to the trophy. Unbeaten as a coach in the Euros – bonkers!

I don’t think many of these records will be broken in Switzerland (but let’s hope Sarina adds a few more games to her record). The stadiums are mostly small to moderately-sized so crowd numbers won’t improve and England are in a terrifyingly tricky group so don’t expect anything close to an 8-0 win! But do start getting excited. Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone had flags in the window for the women like they do for men’s major tournaments? I’ll be keeping a close eye on Wales too but them being in the same group as England, quite frankly, sucks.

Thanks for being here. Keep footballing.

Clare x

We spoke later and Clare commented on Arsenal’s decision to play ALL their women’s games at The Emirates in 2025/26. She said,” “Fantastic news that Arsenal are continuing to support their women’s team but probably no real surprise since they’ve always been ahead of the curve when it comes to club equality. The Emirates is a great stadium, the women can fill it, and they deserve to play in front of as many people as possible.”

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