It’s that time of the year again when Football clubs unveil their jerseys for the next season! There’s always a sense of excitement for a new design among the fanatics. No meaningful Football is scheduled for the next one-and-a-half months. And the fans are willing to clutch to any straws when it comes to their favourite teams. Every now and then, the planned jersey for a side might draw comparisons from an already existing design. That was the case with English side AFC Wimbledon recently.
The club plies its trade in the League Two of the English Footballing pyramid. The team narrowly avoided relegation into non-league Football in the 2022-23 season. And the home jersey launch for the 2023-24 season couldn’t have been much sweeter for the faithful. However, the new threads have an uncanny resemblance to Argentine giants Boca Juniors’ traditional home jersey.
The jerseys do have an eerie similarity
AFC Wimbledon has regularly donned navy blue colours as their home outfits. It is the same colour that has been associated with the South American side over the years. There could hardly have been any issues with that as many teams across the world prefer the same colour. It is the presence of the horizontal yellow stripe across the centre that has drawn comparisons. The navy blue and yellow colours have been known as the identity of Juniors for a long time.
And it is natural for the League Two side’s new colours for being compared to the iconic football club. It could just be a massive inspiration from the Argentine Primera Division’s team. But nothing escapes the watchful eyes of social media in today’s day and age.
Netizens have given their verdict
The Internet Football Community is always on the lookout for topics to be discussed about the game. The Wombles home jersey’s similarities to Boca Juniors’s threads gave them just the perfect ammunition. Fans had a field day on Twitter as they turned up in huge numbers to react to the new kit.
The Wimbledon Tennis season is just around the corner
Not liking the Boca Juniors connection.
It’s notable that Wimbledon has parted ways with previous kit sponsor Hummel and joined hands with Umbro in a new partnership.
Incidents of similar Football jerseys have happened previously as well
It’s not an uncommon occurrence for Football teams to have jerseys that have been seen earlier as well. The frequency of such incidents is more for clubs that wear similar colours. EPL side Newcastle United’s home jersey has always had vertical black and white stripes. And Serie A giants Juventus are no different, with the same stripes always associated with them as well. The Italian side’s 2017 home jersey seemed heavily inspired by the Magpies’ 1995 and 1997 jerseys. Have a look:
Global conglomerate Adidas was the kit sponsor behind the Old Lady’s top design. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say they could have taken inspiration from the 90s shirt. An observation that could hold true for AFC Wimbledon’s kit sponsor Umbro as well.
The English side would be wearing the near similar colours to Boca Juniors next season. They would love to emulate the historic club’s performance on the pitch as well.