Fan backlash as Wales launch ‘worst football shirt in history’
Nation.Cymru staff
Today Wales announced they had swapped their kit manufacturer after 13 years from Adidas to little-known brand Sudu.
Revealing the first home shirt design with a fanfare and a stirring video in collaboration with St Fagans National Museum of History it had all the hallmarks of another cultural triumph from the Football Association of Wales.
However, it’s fair to say the launch hasn’t gone quite to plan. In fact, it’s been something of a disaster.
When Welsh fans got their first glimpse of the new shirt complete with a design based on old Welsh weaving techniques (hence the St Fagans link), supporters didn’t just dislike the new offering, they hated it.
In a press release the FAW said: ‘Authenticity sits at the heart of everything SUDU does. Rejecting templated and reused designs, the brand’s commitment is to work hand in hand with the association and its fans to understand the DNA of the nation and bring real, meaningful stories to life.
‘For the home kit, that story is history and heritage: acknowledging where Wales has been before moving forward. Working in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, the SUDU design team honed in on the age-old craft of Welsh double cloth weaving, reviewing archival pieces that directly informed the final design. The result is a bespoke pattern drawing on elements of traditional Welsh tapestry, brought to life through an embossed finish within the pro kit and rendered in a statement shade of iconic Welsh red.’
However, despite the worthy attempt to connect the design to Welsh heritage, fans were quick to vent their spleen, one called it ‘the worst shirt in Welsh football history’, another quipped it looked like a ‘Wetherspoons pub carpet’, while in a stroll down memory lane one supporter compared it to his ‘nans old curtains’.
As the FAW publicised the new shirt on its social media channels, each post appeared to be accompanied by a string of stinging barbs, with only the very odd comment in support of the shirt.
Introducing the 2026/28 Cymru Home Shirt by SUDU. ✨
Available 9am tomorrow.
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) August 6, 2026
Some of the comments accompanying the post on X…
Then there were the memes that started springing up on socials…
And if fans were taken aback by the home shirt, football kits website Footy Headlines appear to have leaked what the new Wales goalkeeper shirt will look like. And it’s safe to say that if the information is correct, it’s um, quite unorthodox(!)
Also, as an aside, fans asked why the WRU and the FAW both chose the same day to announce new kits, with the national rugby side unveiling new home and away kits earlier in the day.
Speaking about the shirt launch Noel Mooney, Chief Executive of the Football Association of Wales, said: “This partnership represents a landmark moment for the FAW. It is the most valuable kit agreement in our history and reflects the progress Welsh football has made both on and off the pitch.
“Working alongside St Fagans National Museum of History throughout the creative process helped ensure the design was rooted in authentic Welsh heritage, bringing together the expertise of SUDU, the FAW and one of Wales’ most important cultural institutions. The result is a shirt that tells a genuine Welsh story and one that supporters can wear with pride.
“The new home kit is just the beginning. Together with SUDU, we have an exciting pipeline of products and collections still to come, giving supporters more opportunities than ever before to celebrate their connection to Cymru.
“The launch of Siop Cymru – The Official Wales Football Store – is another significant step forward. For the first time, we’ve created a dedicated home for official Cymru merchandise, making our kits and products more accessible to The Red Wall than ever before.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created together. This shirt represents our past, our present and our future, and we hope supporters will wear it with pride wherever they follow Cymru.”
The Wales 2026-28 Home Kit and accompanying ranges launch exclusively to purchase on the new official Wales Store which launches on Friday 7 August. Kits will also be available at JD and Sports Direct from Friday 7 August.
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Glad its not exclusive to a shop. But its ugly, the white sleeves and collar especially. And less than 6 months since the last away kit came out. Ripping off fans again.
White sleeves and collar. The same as worn by the WC team of 1958.
Which is ancient times and that kit looked awful also. We learned to make nicer kits from more complex materials.
Truly dreadful. It’s like some form of AI design, someone at SUDU Googled Welsh fabric designs and came up with this monstrosity. It looks like across between a tee towel and a traditional Welsh woolen blanket FFS.
Levy Merchandising. I for one wont be buying it!!!!! And not solely, because it is an awful looking jersey!!
Why, what’s the other reason?
Guess
Well I think it’s fine
Yes it’s really not that bad. Certainly not our worst. Sadly much of the negative reaction is because it’s not a big name producing it.
Couldn’t care less the manufacturer.Champion was a small brand, but did some ok kits, lotto a smaller brand lovely kits, kappa bit tight but nice. This is just ugly.
Don’t see an issue with it. Fans are always fickle. I see a lot of this style in many Welsh woven products. Bit of heritage.
I like the shirts, including the goalkeeper one.
Literally the definition of ‘just cobble some things together and they will be happy’. Awful. Just awful.
SUDU screams TEMU…
Just screams knockoff fan wear that some brands did in the 90’s for those who couldn’t afford the real replica shirts.
SUDU made kits for Wolves as well which look tacky. We swapped the classic adidas trefoil logo for THIS????
It’s a huge comedown after the best adidas home kit since the 1984 shirt it semi-reference, and the equally stunning off-white away shirt.
SUDU could put out the nicest shirt in Welsh football history.
But it would still have SUDU on it, which is the problem.
You can put lipstick on a pig….but it’s still a pig!
Don’t you think it’s shallow to criticise a shirt simply because it’s not from a major producer of football shirts?
No.
They’re like your nan’s curtains and bedspread in the 70s. This is Mooney’s first big misstep in charge of the FAW.
I like it myself, at least it uses a traditional Welsh design. Excellent idea
Can’t see what all the fuss us about… yes, obviously its a bit crap, but then so were the last 6 or so that Adidas churned out. At least JD Sports are out of the picture now, and not before time.