Global Fútbol

While the SD Huesca anthem proudly states that “blue and red are our colours”, the club has seen over the past few years, the most successful in the institution’s history, that their second kit has come to represent them almost as much as the home shirt. That’s because the away kit contains the Cross of Saint George, red on a white background, which is a symbol for the fans, not only because of the simple yet very striking design but also because it identifies with the region, given that Saint George is the patron saint of Aragon.

“The Cross of Saint George is non-negotiable for us and we always try to include it in our designs, even if, on occasions, that has caused tensions with our technical suppliers,” the club said, explaining the importance of including such a characteristic and representative element of the region of Huesca on their kits.

But, even beyond the club’s own fanbase, this shirt has garnered praise from all over the world. The best evidence of this is the recent vote that was carried out by the football website Footy Headlines, a leader in news related to sportswear. In the poll they conducted, SD Huesca’s St George’s Cross shirt received the seventh-most votes, earning it the label of being the seventh-most beautiful football kit in the world in 2022. The poll included shirts from clubs and national teams from all over the world, and SD Huesca’s was the highest-ranked of any Spanish team.

Asked if the club helped to push for votes, they explained that they didn’t because they only found out about the process practically at the last minute, so there was little time to react. In other words, the votes were natural and this suggests that the majority of those who voted for SD Huesca’s shirt are based outside of Spain. As the club put it: “SD Huesca didn’t carry out any kind of campaign to get votes. That’s mainly because we found out about the Footy Headlines initiative just a few days before the voting deadline, so we had no time to react other than putting a link on our social media.”

The creative way in which this shirt was presented to fans and citizens in Huesca

Spooling back a few months, the club presented this season’s alternative kit in a very original and creative way. Ahead of the launch, people in Huesca awoke one morning to find a huge carpet-like St George's Cross running across the ‘Cuatro Esquinas’ crossroads in the city of Huesca, along with the words ‘Pure Huesca’.

This created a buzz in the city, with the objective of reviving the supporters’ enthusiasm and pride after what was a difficult season in sporting terms. This campaign was also consistent with the club’s vision of reaching new audiences because, as they stated after the activation: “One of the values of SD Huesca is that we represent not only a city but a whole province. Thanks to this initiative, there may now be some people who want to know more about us, about the club and about the province.”

Inside the club offices, they are certain that this campaign did have an impact. They explained: “We’re convinced that the kit launch that took place in the summer, with the big St George's Cross in the centre of the city, and the media impact that the presentation caused, helped to raise awareness of the shirt at an international level.”

An increase in the number of orders worldwide

In terms of sales, the club have confirmed that the St George’s Cross shirt is even more popular than the blue and red one. Plus, this away kit is the star product at the international level and is “the one that sells the most”.

The vote that named this shirt as the seventh-best in the world for 2022 has also led to an increase in the number of orders, with an increase of 35-40% in just one week following the news. The club revealed: “Following the Footy Headlines vote, we received more orders and we noticed online orders coming in from outside the province, especially from the UK, France and the USA.”

Undoubtedly, the original and striking way of presenting the away kit had an impact beyond Spain’s borders and has resulted in a significant increase in the number of shirts the club have been able to sell this season. From this day onwards, SD Huesca will have an even stronger presence all around the world, thanks to various football fans who are sporting this beautiful shirt with the St George’s Cross.