Watford FC to Don One-Off Kit Honouring Elton John This Saturday

EFL Championship side Watford FC will honour one of the biggest music stars in the world — who also happens to be one of the club’s biggest supporters — with a special one-off kit this weekend.

Watford announced this week that they’ll sport blue kits paying tribute to Sir Elton John when they host Blackburn Rovers at Vicarage Road on Saturday, September 13. John has been a fan of Watford since he was six years old, and he first became chairman of the club nearly 50 years ago, in 1976.

Watford says on its website that John was “heavily involved” in the design of the kits, made by Kelme. They’re primarily based on the artwork for John’s greatest hits compilation, Diamonds, which was released in 2017. The blue base of the kit has a sublimated star pattern all over, and silver E-star logos from the album cover repeat down the shoulders between white piping. More stars are woven into the fabric of the polo collar and the sleeve cuffs.

The E-star logo also appears on the back collar of the jersey, while a silver retro “Happy Hornet” logo sits in the jock tag position on the front. The club crest is rendered in silver and blue. Printed near the back hem is a lyric from one of John’s biggest hits, “Your Song”: “How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.”

The shirts will be paired with white shorts that have the E-star logo down the sides and blue socks with white stripes.

John first bought Watford and became its chairman in 1976, and he invested much of his own money to help the team earn promotion from the Fourth Division to the English First Division. The team rose as high as second place in the First Division in 1983, trailing only Liverpool, and made the FA Cup final in 1984, losing to Everton.

John sold Watford in 1987, but remained president. He bought it back in 1997 and served as chairman again until 2002. He remains a part-owner of the club and serves as its honorary life president. A stand at Vicarage Road was named after him in 2014, and he played concerts at the stadium in 2005 and 2010, donating the proceeds to charity.

Kits are available to pre-order through Watford’s online store until noon UK time on Thursday, September 11, then they’ll be available in the team store and online starting on Friday, September 12. Each shirt will come in a special edition gift box.