When did football fans start wearing club uniforms?

"When did fans even start wearing replica jerseys?" asks Alex Ekob. "In the old footage, people are mostly in normal clothes, except for a few with scarves or club flags. What started this trend? Was any club the first?" As the question itself suggests, there is no unequivocal answer here. So get ready: we're going on a journey from copyright laws to academic research, along the way we'll encounter plenty of unofficial kits, DIYs, special cup final kits, kids kits and patch badges - and that's not all. But if we were to draw a clear line and identify a specific date or a specific shirt as the first official adult-sized replica sold by the club to the general public (or at least to those who lived close enough to the club shop), then it seems that Leeds in 1973 would have to take the crown. However, at first the uniform was produced only in children's sizes. "The first replica kit for Leeds United in the 1973/74 season was produced by Admiral," writes Chai from Atlanta. "The story goes that Leeds manager Don Revie and Admiral owner Bert Patrick met by chance in a cafe. There they agreed that Admiral would pay the club £7,000 for the right to play in a new kit with the company's logo on the shirts and shorts. Patrick also got the rights to produce full sets of kits for children. They cost around £5. After the success of Leeds, by the 1977/78 season, 84 of the 92 clubs in the English Football League had a prominent manufacturer's logo on their uniforms and also sold children's replicas. In Scotland that same year, Umbro sold Rangers and Celtic replicas, while Adidas sold Aberdeen and Dundee United. In Germany, Adidas had a monopoly on the Bundesliga. However, the company did not sell replica kits of each club. Instead, ordinary t-shirts in club colors were produced, and children were offered to sew the emblem on themselves, so that the uniform looked official. If adults wanted to show their support for the club, all they had to do was buy a tracksuit, in which the football players warmed up before matches. The first replica T-shirt for adults was England's Admiral uniform for the 1982 World Cup." Admiral herself confirms the story about the meeting of Reavi, Patrick and their agreement in the cafe. "Reavi, who has always been pragmatic and ahead of his time, agreed to the proposal in principle, but put forward one condition," says the company. "The home kit - a pristine white kit inspired by Real Madrid - was untouchable and non-negotiable. But the away kit and training kit could be changed. One handshake was enough to seal a deal that later became one of the most influential in football history. The Admiral company immediately set to work, planning to present a new away kit by Christmas. The result was a bold and modern design: a bright yellow T-shirt with prominent blue and white stripes along the sleeves - a stylistic decision that had not been seen on a football uniform before. The Admiral logo has been placed prominently on the chest alongside the 'smiling' Leeds United crest - a badge that Revie introduced as part of a wider strategy to create a family-friendly and nationally loved image for the club." One possible reason why British clubs and manufacturers did not start selling replica kits earlier could be the Design Copyright Act 1968. He assumed that after the official registration of a certain design, the right to its production was given to a specific brand. Before that, there were actually no clear rules. "This article suggests that the first replicas could have been Umbro kits for children, or Umbrosets, which appeared in 1959. This was the Manchester United kit, although these kits did not have official status," says Nick Williamson. The first Umbrosets were promoted by Manchester United manager Matt Busby, but by 1964 he had been replaced on the packaging by the club's young striker Denis Lowe. It appears he was advertising not just replica Manchester United and Scotland kits, but "eight other top English clubs, three Scottish clubs and an England kit". The authors of the study note: "Football clubs themselves were not the main or even particularly active party in the marketing of these kits. At the same time, some of them, in particular Manchester City, sold replicas in their club shops and advertised them in the programs at the match." However, it would be an exaggeration to call these kits full-fledged replicas of the uniforms worn by football players. Rather, it is about a non-officer