Now here’s a football shirt to make football fans of a certain age happy.
AFC Wimbledon will return to their spiritual home of Plough Lane this season, with a brand new purpose-built community stadium just yards from the site of their former home nearing completion.
To mark their return to SW19, Puma have worked with the club to produce a shirt that recalls past Wimbledon glories.
Created by AFC Wimbledon supporter and graphic designer Marc Jones, each aspect of the shirt tells a little part of the club’s story and heralds the return of the club to Wimbledon.
The yellow band across the shoulders references the 1982-83 4th Division title, whilst the blue stripes on the collar are a tribute to the FA Cup Final victory over Liverpool in 1988.
Meanwhile, the shirts feature nine diagonal shadow stripes symbolising the number of seasons it took for the phoenix club to return to the Football League after, well, you know what happened in Milton Keynes by now don’t you?
The direction of those stripes, previously used in 1985-86 on promotion to the old First Division, is also important to The Dons’ story, as they point back to South West London and to Plough Lane.
Marc Jones has had a hand in designing key elements of the club’s revival including the original AFC Wimbledon roman eagle badge and the first kit of their renaissance.
For Dons fans, uprooted and having led a nomadic existence for so long, returning to a place they can call home will be a highly emotional occasion and an important milestone in helping support and sustain the club for generations to come.
These shirts bring back memories of old Dons designs from Spall.
You can almost see “Truman” where Football Manager takes up the front sponsors’ slot and you can just about see Lawrie Sanchez rising to head the ball past Bruce Grobbelaar under Wembley’s twin towers.
Each year, a football shirt comes along to show that the chassis of a template kit does not need to be a restriction when the colours of a shirt work within the design, and this is a clear example of how for Football League clubs, Puma doesn’t have to mean plain.
AFC Wimbledon fans of all ages will love these smart, well-rooted shirts and we can’t wait to see them wearing these in the Plough Lane’s pristine stands when the League One season begins.
What do you think of Puma’s new AFC Wimbledon shirts?
Sartorial Soccer 