In Gaelic games, Sligo launched their new kit for 2019 on Wednesday and there is a notable change.
For the first time since 2001, white is the primary colour of the jersey, produced as ever by O’Neills. The launch was also notable for the fact that the players pictured wore short socks – historically, players have worn knee-length socks but the majority have worn them down and in recent years the shorter versions have become more prevalent.
The reason for the change to black in 2001 came about due to superstition. Back then, the Yeats County had brought out a new white shirt early in the year:
However, Sligo were drawn with Kildare, who wear all-white, in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, and lost the toss for colours, wearing a black-bodied version of the new top.
Having won that game in Dublin’s Croke Park, Sligo were drawn with Dublin, again at Croke Park, and sought to drawn upon the same charms as for the Kildare game.
As a result, they stayed in the same hotel and opted to wear black again – despite the threat of a fine from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) for not wearing their registered colours. The one change to the kit was that the black shirts now had non-contrasting collars.
While Dublin beat them, it was decided to keep the black jerseys and – bar one pre-season game against Galway in 2009 – they remained as first choice until now.
