Brighton & Hove Albion have never been a club short on history.
Founded in 1901, the Seagulls have spent more than a century building an identity shaped by persistence, community and survival.
From the old days at the Goldstone Ground to years of uncertainty and ground-sharing, Brighton’s journey has rarely been straightforward.
That history is part of what makes the club’s modern success so striking.
The move to the Amex Stadium, promotion to the Premier League and their eventual step into European football all came after decades of struggle.
For Brighton supporters, the club is not just defined by results but by the long road it took to get here.
Kits have always played a role in telling that story.
Football shirts are more than just fabric; they are snapshots of a club’s identity at a particular moment in time.
For Brighton, the blue and white stripes are now instantly recognisable, but the club’s visual history stretches back much further than the modern Premier League era.
With the Seagulls set to mark their 125th anniversary in 2026, the club have leaned into that early history with a special one-off kit.
The release is designed to pay tribute to Brighton’s beginnings in 1901, moving away from the familiar striped look in favour of a design rooted in Albion’s first season.
The shirt itself is a stripped-back deep blue design, inspired by the colours worn by Brighton in their earliest days.
Rather than using the club’s familiar blue and white stripes, Nike have gone for a cleaner, heritage-style look, with a traditional polo-style collar giving it a more old-school feel.
The 125th-anniversary crest, Nike swoosh and sponsor logos are worked into the shirt in a tonal blue finish, meaning they blend into the base rather than standing out sharply.
Made with Nike’s Dri-FIT fabric technology, it is still a modern performance shirt, but visually it leans heavily into a classic, retro-inspired fit and finish.
It is a deliberate throwback, aimed at connecting the modern club with its origins more than a century ago.
The limited-edition anniversary package costs £150, and the club are presenting it as a collector’s item rather than a standard shirt release.
The box includes the anniversary shirt, a scarf, a keyring, a pin badge, postcards, a place on the 125 Fan Wall and a letter of authenticity from chairman Tony Bloom.
Only 1,901 boxed editions are being made, a reference to the year Brighton was founded.
However, the launch has not landed smoothly with everyone.
The new anniversary kit has quickly divided opinion online.
Some supporters have loved the full kit look that comes with the white shorts, while others have been much less impressed, with criticism focused on both the plain appearance of the shirt.
one of the worst kits i’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/StDoNvPYxP
— Aqa (@BHA_Aqua) May 19, 2026
Safe to say, folks haven’t been able to digest the premium price attached to it.
£150 for Brighton’s anniversary shirt?! What!? Yes it comes in a box with a scarf and a keyring, but £150 is crazy. pic.twitter.com/Hm3ZtYs5UE
— Kit Crimes (@KitCrimes) May 20, 2026
Many see it as their go-to shirt for playing the sport of golf.
when you’re got golf at 11 and golf again at 2 and then more golf at 5:30 https://t.co/nDCpuldNrG
— cosmo (@cosmo_nffc) May 20, 2026
Some joked relating it to the blue dress traditionally associated with Christian evangelists like The Salvation Army and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
"Hey bro, have you ever heard of Jesus Christ?" https://t.co/vIAcNAOZ0T
— Murph (@NUFCMurph) May 20, 2026
For most fans, £150 is a lot to ask for what many see as a plain blue polo shirt, something that is not worth it at all.
However, for collectors, the limited run and the extra items may make it feel like a special piece of club history.
Brighton’s one-off release was meant to celebrate 125 years of club history.
Instead, it has also highlighted how even the most sentimental football launches can divide opinion when the design is simple and the price is anything but.
