Ajax has confirmed its third shirt. The shirt of the Amsterdammers is a tribute to Bob Marley and his number Three Little Birds, which can be heard regularly in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. It is a black shirt, with red, green and yellow accents on the sleeves, around the collar and around the club logo. The kit is the second kit for European matches, in addition to the home kit.
The shirt was already leaked in December via the Twitter account @hendocfc, which based on information from a catalog and wrote that it was 70 percent certain that the third uniform would look like this. That this will indeed be Ajax’s third shirt is now confirmed by the club from Amsterdam. “I am deeply moved that Ajax has embraced Three Little Birds as its own song,” daughter Cedella Marley tells Ajax. “Stories like this touch my heart and show how powerful songs can be. Football was everything to my father. In his words, football is freedom.”
Rise up this morning, smile with the rising sun. Introducing our new 21/22 third jersey, inspired by our collective love for @BobMarley and his Three Little Birds. pic.twitter.com/YiPUS7AR19
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) August 20, 2021
According to The Telegraph years of preparation preceded the design of the shirt. The stripes of clothing sponsor Adidas on the shoulders are in green, yellow and red. Just below the collar a subtle reference to the world famous song is visible in the form of three small birds resting on the Amsterdam Andreas crosses. Unlike the previously leaked shirt, this shirt has a v-neck. It soon became apparent on Friday morning that the shirt is in demand with Ajax fans, when a queue arose to gain access to the webshop.
The love between Ajax and Bob Marley has its origins in 2008, when fans had to stay in the guest section after an exhibition game with Cardiff City on the advice of the stadium speaker. The latter then set up the well-known Three Little Birds, which never disappeared from the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Bob Marley and his number were embraced by the Ajax supporters under the motto cause every little thing is gonna be alright.