The strangest and wackiest football shirts of years gone by

A host of classic shirts from the past have been written into footballing folklore — but some are remembered for all the wrong reasons.

LiveScore have teamed up with Classic Football Shirts to have a look through the strangest and wackiest kit designs from over the years.

Club Deportivo La Granja (Home shirt, 2018-19)

Spanish minnows Club Deportivo La Granja decided to use their 2018-19 home kit to celebrate the finest of produce of their region — judion beans.

Bearing a striking similarity to the baked beans we enjoy on our toast in the UK, the unique design garnered plenty of interest on social media.

Cameroon (Home shirt, 2014)

At first glance, Cameroon's kit for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations may not seem out of the ordinary. 

But after a second look you will notice that is an all-in-one design that connects the shirt to the shorts.

Puma's kit was almost banned by FIFA but with no time to redesign it, Samuel Eto'o and Co were forced to turn out in the onesie-style strip for the tournament.

AFC Bedale (Home shirt, 2018-19)

AFC Bedale's hot dog shirt is just one of several food-based designs they have made as part of their partnership with sausage company Heck.

While supporters will have wondered what the heck was going on at first, they will now be used to the pork-based product emblazoned on their jerseys, with bangers and mash and toad in the hole among the other dishes celebrated on their succulent shirts.

Partick Thistle (Special edition shirt, 2022-23)

Partick Thistle's infamous mascot from 2015 'Kingsley' is heralded as one of the most bizarre of its kind — so the Scottish Championship side decided to pay homage to it on one of their recent kits.

The spiky-headed yellow beast was put front and centre on a special-edition design last season, with fans from all over flocking to grab a replica of their own.

Club Deportivo Palencia (Play-off Home shirt, 2016)

Lower-division Spanish teams have shown they are not afraid of kits that will get people talking and this 'Flesh' shirt designed by Kappa certainly did that.

In a one-off shirt brought in for their play-off games, the side from Castille and Leon were able to summon their inner strength and achieve promotion to the third tier that campaign.

Atletico Madrid (Home and away, 2004-05)

Atletico Madrid signed a deal with Columbia Pictures back in 2004, leading them to have a number of different films as their shirt sponsors.

From Hellboy to Spiderman to Hitch, if there was a new film out during the mid-noughties, Atleti were not shy in promoting it.

Cultural Leonesa (Anniversary shirt, 2014-15)

Spanish side Cultural Leonesa got themselves suited and booted for a charity tournament with this tuxedo-inspired shirt.

While they certainly may have looked smarter, it is unknown whether it helped them out-wit their opponents on the field.

Newcastle (Away shirt, 2009-10)

As if Newcastle's first ever relegation from the Premier League in 2009 was not hard enough on Geordie supporters, the club decided to make players turn out in yellow in the Championship the following season.

Their iconic black and white stripes on their home shirt was replaced with two different shades of yellow, leading many to compare it to a deck chair you might find on the beaches of Tyneside.

Pena Deportiva Ibiza (Third shirt, 2018-19)

The party island of Ibiza is more famous for its dance music scene than its football so Pena Deportiva Ibiza decided to steer into the skid in 2018-19.

The team that hails from the town of Santa Eularia des Riu put a disco buddha on the front of their shirt and their manager got a tune out of his side as they were promoted to the Segunda Division B.

Check out the best and most authentic retro football shirts at classicfootballshirts.com.