Classic and Retro Barcelona Football Shirts

So many of Europe's top sides' sport iconic football kits that are recognised throughout the football world and Barcelona's red and blue broad stripes are no exception. The origins of the strip, first worn in 1900, a year after the club's formation, are unclear although the most popular thinking is that it was the decision of the team's founder Joan Gamper who simply borrowed the colours of Swiss side FC Basel or possibly his home town team Excelsior Zurich. Barca's red and blue shirts are worn with blue socks and shorts - although originally white pairs were worn, followed later by black.  Blue shorts didn't become the norm at the Nou Camp until the 1920s.  The most famous association connected with Barca's kit though is the fact that until very recently the club shirt was 'unspoilt' by commercialism and was bereft of a sponsors' logo. That isn't to say that an additional logo, other than the manufacturers', has never appeared on the club jerseys though as in 2006 the side agreed a five- year deal to promote children's charity UNICEF on their shirts. And from 2011 the club's honourable stance on commercial sponsorship ends as the Qatar Foundation will become the first paying sponsor to feature on the red and blue shirts in a deal rumoured to be the largest in football history.  A manufacturer's logo first appeared on the Barca shirt in the early 80s; that of Spanish sportswear company Meyba. 10 years later Kappa took over the contract and in 1998 Nike signed a deal to supply the kit and have remained with the club ever since.  Away from the Nou Camp the side have never been shy in wearing a rich array of change strips including designs in yellow (for example the memorable 70s 'sash' strip), pale blue and orange. But Barca's traditional home colours are so precious to the club that they nearly always play a very prominent part on the change strips. Click here to Sell your old Barcelona Shirts