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Our Story
Founded in 2006 by friends Doug and Matt, Classic Football Shirts is the ultimate destination for football shirts, past and present.
Our archive is a testament to the beautiful game’s visual history. Every kit is the result of a global sourcing network and authentication process, ensuring that the Fabric of Football is preserved. We are committed to curating the world’s most comprehensive collection, where the design, culture, and stories of football are woven into every shirt.
We couldn’t do this without the support of our amazing workforce and our loyal customers. Whether you’ve bought a Napoli figurine or a mint condition Holland '88. Thank you.
The Beginning
In the summer of 2006, Classic Football Shirts was born out of a shared childhood obsession with collecting kits. The catalyst was Doug's quest to track down an original 1990 West Germany home shirt. No easy feat at the time. We set about buying as much stock as possible, with eBay proving a key tool in those early days.
Without social media, gaining momentum was a struggle, and we scraped together just enough to advertise in a few popular football magazines. The grind paid off though, and we still remember the excitement of our first orders, including a memorable early purchase from Darren Fletcher, who ordered several Celtic shirts.
Founding Years
By 2007, rails were packed into every room of our student house. Among the standout acquisitions was a Johan Cruyff Washington Dips shirt, a testament to the remarkable pieces we were unearthing. With the business outgrowing its domestic roots, we took the leap and moved into our first professional space at 86 Deansgate in the city centre.
This period also saw the launch of our clearance category, featuring brands like Lotto and Joma. It wasn't always smooth sailing. In 2009, a five-a-side team complained after buying Palermo kits, only to arrive at their game and find their opponents in the same all-pink attire!
Our ambition was simple but relentless: at least one item for every recognised team, however obscure. We spent our days sourcing tirelessly, building a destination where fans could explore the visual history of their favourite teams and players.
The Big Break
Nothing could prepare us for the AC Milan warehouse deal. The rumours were true: 15 years of player stock, amounting to 30,000 items ranging from Shevchenko's match-worn shirts to David Beckham's underpants. This single delivery accounted for 10-20% of our entire website's inventory and forced us to roll the dice on our first massive warehouse space.
Euros Adventure
During the 2012 Euros, a lost suitcase led to an unexpected discovery. An Aladdin's cave of shirts in Kharkiv. We spent the rest of the tournament relentlessly sourcing, adding thousands of rare Eastern European gems to the collection.
Scaling Up
By 2014, the sheer volume of stock required us to build a mezzanine floor to expand our storage capacity. Around this time, we also began working directly with major brands, significantly expanding our Nike player issue ranges and solidifying our reputation as the global authority for modern technical kits.
Milestones
2016 marked our 10th anniversary and a major shift in mindset. For a decade we had sold everything that came through the doors, including grails like a Cantona France '92 shirt. It was time to start keeping the very best pieces, and so the CFS Archive was born. This sparked an expansion into exhibitions in 2017, launching at the National Football Museum with over 500 jerseys. We took the story global with events in Moscow and a landmark display at Rockefeller Plaza, New York in 2018.
We also grew our retail footprint with pop-ups in London at the Old Truman Brewery and a permanent home in Manchester. Designed to be more than just a shop, where fans could watch classic VHS tapes and play retro video games while browsing thousands of shirts.
Later in the year, we began working with BT Sport on a series titled 'What I Wore', curating shirts to tell the story of some of the game's biggest names, with guests including Rio Ferdinand, Gary Lineker, and Gareth Bale. Seeing their physical reactions to shirts from their past has been an incredible experience.
New HQ
In 2020 we relocated our HQ in pursuit of yet more space. It was a sad farewell to our old home, but not before the perfect send-off. Matt's childhood hero Ian Wright paid us a visit for an all-access warehouse tour, before Matt took on the mission to reunite him with his lost trophies.
That summer, ahead of the Euros, we created an It’s Coming Home bucket hat that ended up on the BBC Breakfast sofa and on thousands of supporters' heads as England went all the way to the Final.
Despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic, interest in the football shirt community exploded. Collectors took part in the #KitsOutChallenge, and YouTubers like our friend Ellis Plattern introduced a whole new generation to the world of shirts.
Partnerships
In the 2021-22 season, we lived out a dream by sponsoring Burnley as they stormed to the Championship title, before partnering with Parma. A club etched into the hearts of Football Italia fans. Watching the legendary Gianluigi Buffon wear his final professional shirt bearing the CFS logo was a true goosebumps moment.
Evolution
In October 2023, we turned the lights off our first Manchester store at Deansgate, moving to a bigger space in the Northern Quarter. Stocked with even more shirts, it's a true football paradise, sit back with a coffee, classic VHS, and a copy of La Gazzetta dello Sport.
That year also brought another pinch-me moment: taking David Beckham through his career in shirts. We heard about his passion for design, his childhood kit collecting, and his insights into a remarkable career. Everything we hoped it would be, and a moment we won't be forget.
To close out 2023, our pop-up tour headed across the pond, touching down in LA, Miami, and New York. In LA, Giorgio Chiellini joined us for a meet-and-greet, and we had the pleasure of tracking down a Roy Keane shirt for the Italy legend. It was incredible sharing our passion for shirts over in the US, so far from the student house where it all began.
Global Presence
2025 marked a pivotal moment as significant external investment fuelled our most ambitious expansion, taking the Classic Football Shirts experience across borders. This included pop-ups at Bayern Munich's flagship club store and in Liverpool to celebrate adidas's return as the club's kit manufacturer, bringing the physical archive to an international community of collectors.
Celebrating 20 years
To commemorate 20 years, we are releasing the Classic Football Shirts Book. A love letter to football shirts and fan culture, told through the world’s most sought-after kits, from greatest hits to modern classics.
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