Collecting classic football kit is a popular hobby. Sports are a big deal if you hadn’t noticed, and everyone has a favorite team or a favorite player that they love. Whether you are a fan of a big, super popular football team or a small local club, you have probably thought at least once about buying some merch to show off how much you care about your favorite player or your home team. There is a lot of great retro football kits available for sale out there, and it is easy to buy a replica of all the classic iconic shirts. If you are looking for a real, authentic article, that might be harder. Still, with a bit of digging around online, it is easy to find a great quality replica of any shirt and any number that will perfectly complete your collection or show off your allegiance to everyone by your vintage football shirts.
What are Vintage Football Shirts?
Vintage football shirts are often known as retro football shirts or classic football shirts. This is a broad umbrella term that covers many different styles and designs of football shirts – there is no specific age that a shirt must be to be counted as “vintage” or “retro.” Football shirts get redesigned regularly as sponsorship deals change and players transfer between teams. Older shirts and current shirts might look very different from one another, so each player and each team will have a range of different kit styles on the market.
In most cases, “classic” or “vintage” football kit is a term used to refer to the older and more iconic designs of a shirt that older fans have strong feelings about. It is not an official or technical term, but as a general rule of thumb, you can usually find any designs that are not current and up to date being sold as “classic football kit” or similar.
It can be a bit trickier to find a classic football kit rather than modern, current football shirts, particularly if you are a smaller team fan. This is because most official licensed football shirt retailers specialize in current styles, colors, and numbers. The changing market is a bigger one than the retro kit market, but it is not the only option out there. Older designs can still be bought online, and the classic football shirt industry is a thriving marketplace.
Where to buy Retro Football Kit
It is easy to buy replicas of current football shirts directly from the teams in question, but retro gear can be a bit harder to track down without some hunting around the internet. Fortunately, there are plenty of specialist retailers here to help you with this. eBay stores are prolific, and dedicated classic football kit stores like Classic Football Kit are a great option for tracking down that elusive classic shirt you need. Just beware of unscrupulous retailers selling low-quality replicas, and stick to genuine stores with a deep love of football, such as Classic Football Kit.
Why Classic Football Shirts Matter
Many fans find that there are certain eras or lineups that mean more to them than others. That might be the lineup from a particularly great season or the lineup from the first team you started watching properly. You might find that your favorite player has moved to a team you like less and that the merchandise you want is no longer readily available because you prefer their colors from a team they are no longer a part of. These are all important reasons to track down a classic football kit online, but they are not the only reasons you might want to bear in mind. It is also worth considering the importance of filling in the gaps in a collection. If you are trying to collect all the shirts from a team or collect all the specific shirts from a certain season, then buying a retro football kit might be a really important part of that process for you.
Conclusion
The world of retro football shirts is a vibrant and exciting one, with a whole world of collecting communities and web stores out there for you to dive into. It does not matter how obscure the kit you are looking for is. You will be able to find it out there somewhere, and there are whole communities of dedicated retro football enthusiasts who are sure to be keen to help you out!
Featured Photo by Tembela Bohle from Pexels
