Town have revealed their new home kit for the 2020/21 season which, as TWTD previously reported, is a tribute to the strip the Blues wore 40 years ago in 1980/81, the campaign widely regarded as the club’s greatest in which they won the UEFA Cup.
The shirts, produced by adidas as was the case in 1980/81, feature a one-year return of the badge worn in that era - which was replaced in 1995 - with the legend ‘UEFA Cup 40 years’ below it.
The inner back-neck of all home shirts feature Sir Bobby Robson's quote about that side, "This was my greatest Ipswich team, They were the perfect jigsaw.”
The traditional blue shirt is augmented by what the club is describing as a "seasonal change” to blue shorts, which were worn in the away leg of the final against AZ 67 Alkmaar in Amsterdam in which Town confirmed a 5-4 on-aggregate victory, as well as in the memorable away victories at St Etienne and Cologne in the semi-finals.
The socks are blue with a white trim, however, with the adidas three stripes blue rather than white as in recent seasons and in 1980/81.
The front of the shirt bears the Carers Trust logo, something gifted to the charity by sponsors Magical Vegas.
Carers Trust CEO, Gareth Howells told the club site: "We are thrilled to see unpaid carers recognised with the Carers Trust logo featured on such a special commemorative shirt. On behalf of all the unpaid carers we work with, I’d like to wish Ipswich Town every success for the new season.”
John O’Reilly, chief executive of Rank who own Magical Vegas, added: "We’re proud of our partnership with Carers Trust and we’re continually looking at ways in which we can further support the charity.
"We’re delighted that this sponsorship will shine a much needed spotlight on the fantastic work Carers Trust do in supporting unpaid carers across the UK.”
The new shirt will also feature the updated EFL name and number font as well as the logo of the EFL’s charity partner, Mind.
Fans can also have ‘Thank you NHS” added to the back of their shirts with all profits going to the Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals Charity.
The back of the shorts bear the Mortgagemove.co.uk brand. Company principle Nick Golding said: "We are delighted that the Mortgagemove.co.uk logo adorns the new kit which is a tribute to such a successful period in ITFC’s history.”
The kit can be preordered now from www.itfcshop.com with delivery as soon as they arrive at the club, late July at the latest, although the club say that is still to be confirmed due to the ongoing uncertainties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fans who preorder will also receive a set of six luxury postcards (worth £15) designed by illustrator George Ripton. Each postcard will depict a scene from the 80/81 UEFA Cup campaign.
Given the guidelines around social distancing and the advice given to retail stores, the pre-ordering is only available online.
We're hoping to be able to bring you the new away kit around the middle of next week. All we'l say at this stage is... it's completely different from anything we've ever worn.#itfc https://t.co/Oz9aNYEaQg– ITFCShop.com (@ITFC_PlanetBlue) June 30, 2020