Random: Welsh Football Team Introduces Motorsport-Inspired Gulf Livery Shirt

Welcome to Random, a new series at Car Throttle where we bring you the car stories nobody looks for, but turn out to be oddly interesting

We wouldn’t normally be bringing you the story of a Welsh football team revealing its third kit for a new season, given we’re A) a car website and B) many of you reading this are American, even if we are UK-based. Today’s a bit different, though.

Swansea City, which plays in the Championship, the second division of English football (yes, they’re Welsh. And Wales has a separate league system that Swansea doesn’t play in. No, don’t ask us to explain), has just revealed a Gulf-liveried kit directly inspired by motorsport.

We’re fairly certain this is the first time a press release from a football team has called out several Le Mans-competing cars, too. The bit of PR bumf accompanying some nice images says the design of the blue-and-orange kit “Reflects the numerous famous Gulf motorsport liveries that have adorned some of the greatest racing cars in history, such as the Ford GT40, Porsche 917 and the McLaren F1 GTR.”

As well as the iconic striping orange and blue down the middle, the shirt goes all-in on the details with Gulf striping at the end of the sleeves and around the collar. In case you want to go full kit w****r, pale blue shorts and socks are being sold separately too.

Don’t expect to see Swasea wearing the kit all that much throughout the 2025/26, given this is supposed to serve as the team’s alternate shirt. Which is to say, never in a home game, and in theory only in away games where the first and second kits don’t clash with that of the opposition team. Albeit, given sponsorship obligations, it will inevitably be wheeled out on occasions when it wouldn’t be necessary.

Not that we’d complain too much, as we (quite biasedly) think this could be the best football shirt of the season. Well, putting aside this author’s Liverpool support for a second.

If you want to buy Swansea’s Gulf shirt, it’ll go on sale at 10am on Friday, 22 August for £60 in adult sizes. Some advice if you’re an American wanting one: Just don’t wear it in Cardiff.