Image from classicfootballshirts.co.uk
I know, I know. You don’t want to read any further until you have purchased one of these beauties. Calm down, head to https://www.bodibro.ie/product/wexford-fc-2020-home-match-jersey/ where it appears they have all sizes available (for now!).
Yes, yes, there IS a black version for the away kit available which is equally as beautiful…
Still with me? Did you get one? Course you did…. Anyway, let’s delve into Wexford, importantly Mick Wallace and the story behind this gem of a kit which I am sure Che Guevara would approve.
Wexford FC are an Irish First Division team hailing from Crossabeg which I am sure you’ll all well aware is home to the beautiful Ferrycarrig Castle which is thought to be the first Norman fortification in Ireland.
They were actually “invited” to play in the First Division back in 2007 when Dublin City went bankrupt and left the league with an uneven amount of teams – this started the official “history” of the club as previously it was called Wexford Youths, a setup founded and developed by TD (Irish member of parliament) Mick Wallace who funded the lot including stadium and state-of-the-art training facilities.
Mick is an Irish politician who owned property and construction companies before heading into politics and had a rocky journey which led to his bankruptcy in 2016. In 2017 the Wexford Supporter’s Trust took ownership of the club from thereon in. When he founded Wexford in 2007 he became their manager for 3 seasons before stepping away – still today acting as the chairman of the board.
The club crest used to have a bit of meaning, and little motto to go with it….but Mick didn’t like that. Instead, Mick changed the club crest which is now an image of a rampant bull. He decided to change the crest to pay homage to his favourite Italian club, Torino, just because he can I guess?
The sponsor is literally Mick. The “GUE/NGL” stands for The European United Left/Nordic Green Left (apparently), which is a political group of the European Parliament – y’know, because he does politics and all that.
The kit provider “Bodibro” are the self-proclaimed “largest sportswear providers to Irish sports teams”. They don’t quite reach the dizzy heights of having their own Wiki page but I’ll take their word for it on this one. Quite conveniently, Bodibro was founded by Wexford players Ben Brosnan (no relation to Piers, unfortunately) and Joey Wadding.
The Shirt, the beautiful shirt. This dazzling pink camo design features Jim Fitzpatrick’s iconic image of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, apparently inspired by mad lad Mick (new nickname). There’s not really much detail past that. There’s a really faint link between Guevara and Ireland however as he was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Patrick Lynch, who was born in Galway but emigrated first to Bilbao in the 1740s, before making his way to Rio de la Plata in Argentina. Loose connection if ever I saw one! (it must be true though, look, there’s a painted wall about it).
Another shot at being “edgy” by Wexford, who hopefully grab a few sales out of it, as from my very little dive into the history of Mick Wallace, it appears Mick might need the cash! Personally, kinda like this one, might even splash out. Reminds me very much of that time last year that Bohemians (again, Irish) tried to get away with popping Bob Marley on their Away kit before being forced to rework the design.
Author: Jack Goodwin @JackAGoodwin
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