Bohemians follow Ajax with Bob Marley-inspired away jersey
Bohemians have released a Bob Marley-inspired away jersey in a tribute to his final 'An Afternoon in the Park’ outdoor concert, following the blueprint set by Ajax with their release of a similar strip last year.
The Irish club unveiled the new strip in January 2022 in collaboration with the Bob Marley family and their Bravado clothing label, but their release differs slightly from the Ajax offering that honoured the popular anthem 'Three Little Birds' back in August.
The jersey release has been born out of Bohemians' desire to mark the legendary singer's appearance at Dalymount Park on July 6th, 1980, and the club are also raising money through sales for asylum seekers in Ireland.
How does the new Bohemians Bob Marley kit look?
Bohemians' new away kit features Jamaica's colours in a distinctive strip that runs through the club badge, with the colours also visible on the sleeve and rear neck trims.
An embroidered hem tag of the Dalymount Park concert ticket has also been included on the lower front of the jersey, which is now available to pre-order via the club's website ahead of their 2022 season.
Bob Marley's family have collaborated with Bohemians for the Irish side's latest away kit 🇮🇪🇯🇲
— GOAL (@goal) January 24, 2022
Marley's last outdoor concert was at Bohemians' Dalymount Park stadium in Dublin. pic.twitter.com/dGFfGwf3t4
Bohemians chief operating officer Daniel Lambert said: “It brings me enormous joy to unveil this jersey today following years of work on the idea.
"The Marley concert at Dalymount is one of Ireland’s truly special musical events, his only ever Irish show and, sadly, his last ever outdoor one.
"His love of football is widely known to all, and that he played on our famous pitch before the concert, the same turf that some of the world’s best players have graced such as Pele, Best and Zidane is amazing.”
The new jersey is available to buy at marley-bohemianfc.com.
Pre-sale open: Our 2022 away kit, testament to Bob Marley's last-ever outdoor concert, in Dalymount Park 1980.
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) January 24, 2022
Shirt sales will also raise funds to bring football and music to asylum seekers in Ireland.
"Unity is the world's key, and racial harmony"
👉 https://t.co/7JnYwNbxWq pic.twitter.com/k1FMUcBcF1
Bohemians' Bob Marley controversy
This is not the first time that Bohemians have launched a Bob Marley strip, having seen a previous kit design pulled from stores in 2018.
That particular jersey was almost identical to the new release but also included the musician's face, despite the club not owning the image rights at the time.
Bohemians were forced to take down the kit and replace it with one featuring a clenched raised fist instead of Marley's face.