Most people are aware of Nottingham Forest’s Champions League exploits, or Notts County’s history. But their influence on the beautiful game actually has another interesting layer to it…

1. Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors have got one of the most iconic shirt designs in the world, with their yellow horizontal stripe over a blue shirt being instantly recognised for a century.

When the club was founded in 1905, they wore a white shirt with black stripes (although some suggest it was actually pink), but it took just two years for them to adopt the iconic design.

In 1906, they played against Nottingham de Almagro, who wore a similar kit, likely inspired by Notts County from the founders’ homeland. The winners of this game, it was decided, would keep the design: and Boca were defeated.

Therefore, it was decided that they would adopt the colours of the first boat that came into port at Buenos Aires: and that boat was, by luck, a Swedish boat that was docked in Buenos Aires at the time, called the Drottning Sophia, and the ‘Azul y Oro’ shirt was born.

The Swedish flag has been used in a number of Boca shirt designs over the years as a nod to this story -most recently in their 2024 third shirt.

2. Juventus

I bet you’d never have guessed that Notts County would have such an impact on two of the world’s most iconic teams, but they’re coming up again already.

Juventus wore pink kits before the change to their stripes, but in 1903, the pink of the shirts had faded, and they asked a former player to help them find a new kit. This former player was called John Savage, and he was a Notts County fan. He got his friend to send the club some black-and-white striped shirts, and the rest is history.

Now known as I Bianconeri (the black and whites), the club have an instantly-recognisable shirt: and it’s all down to Notts.

The Turin side invited County for a friendly in 2011 to celebrate the opening of their new stadium, as a nod to the clubs’ intertwined histories.

3. AC Milan

If you thought that was it, you’d be mistaken. Honestly, I’m baffled too.

Milan are another of the world’s most iconic clubs, with the red and black stripes giving us some of the games greatest-ever shirts.

Maldini, Pirlo, Nesta, Baresi, Kaka, Gullit, Van Basten, Shevchenko and more of the game’s best all wore shirts inspired by Notts Olympic, a club that club founder Herbert Kilpin used to be part of.

That club folded, but it has been reborn – and it’s very proud of their Milan-inspiring heritage.

4. Arsenal

I’ll be honest, I started writing this piece as a general feature on some weird ways teams got their colours, but the constant Nottingham mentions were getting too much. It’s great.

We’ve had plenty of County influence in this piece, but we’re finishing off with rivals Forest.

The club was founded as Dial Square FC, as a nod to a workshop in the factory that its founders worked in.

However, Arsenal became red in 1886, when the South London side acquired a number of players from Nottingham Forest, and these players brought their kit with them.

The white was added to the sleeves under legendary manager Herbert Chapman a few decades later.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons