York City Home Kit 25-26

“Take my money” is often a comment on social media when a fantastic new kit launches – this is one of them. The 2025/26 York City home shirt – unveiled at the Jorvik Viking Centre, the new Hummel design weaves together football, history, and identity. Every thread calls back to York’s past as Jórvík – the Viking stronghold, the jewel of the Danelaw, and the battleground of kings.

When the Great Heathen Army captured York in 866, the city became the capital of Viking England. From there, it was ruled by Scandinavian warlords and remembered in sagas sung across the North Sea. This new shirt is steeped in that heritage. Woven into the fabric is a subtle Viking pattern, with longships hidden in the weave, echoing the sails that once crowded the Humber and Ouse. The collar and cuffs are white, tipped with red and blue to form the colours of York City, blending modern identity with ancient roots. Beneath the collar, a custom rune-script boat spells out “YORK” in the language of the Norse, a detail that mirrors the carved runes still found in the city’s archaeology. And, of course, the White Rose sits proudly in the corner, a county emblem linking past and present. This is more than a kit. It’s a saga you can wear.

York’s Viking story is a roll call of legends. Ragnar Lothbrok – whether man or myth – met his end in Northumbria at the hands of King Aella, sparking his sons’ revenge and the creation of Jórvík. Erik Bloodaxe, ruthless and ambitious, sat on York’s throne a century later, remembered in the sagas as brooding in a rain-soaked hall beside his queen, Gunnhild. Yet it was Harald Hardrada, the ‘Harsh Ruler’, who brought the saga of Viking York to its dramatic conclusion.

By 1066, York while still technically part of Saxon England, its loyalties were still uncertain. With Edward the Confessor dead and no clear heir, the north once more looked like fertile ground for Scandinavian ambition. Enter Harald Hardrada of Norway – giant of a man, soldier of the Varangian Guard, and the last great Viking. He had seen the palaces of Constantinople, fought battles across distant lands, and returned home hardened as both warrior and ruler. When England’s throne lay vacant, Hardrada saw his chance.

In September 1066, Hardrada sailed into the Humber with 300 longships, each crammed with warriors and ambition. He was joined by Tostig Godwinson, brother of Harold, the English king. Tostig, once earl of Northumbria, promised that York’s lords would rally to their cause. The calculation wasn’t far-fetched – York had been a Viking base for two centuries, its people still spoke Norse alongside English, and the north often felt closer to Scandinavia than to London. On 20 September, Hardrada and Tostig proved their strength at the Battle of Fulford, crushing the English forces sent to oppose them. York prepared to submit, hostages were gathered, and the city seemed set to become a Viking capital once again.

But fate turned at Stamford Bridge (not that one…). On 25 September, as Hardrada’s army waited in the heat for York’s hostages, many warriors set aside their mail shirts. Instead of a surrendering delegation, they saw a dust cloud on the horizon – the army of King Harold Godwinson, who had force-marched nearly 200 miles from London in just four days. The battle was savage. Legend tells of a lone Viking holding the bridge, cutting down attacker after attacker until he was brought down from beneath (ouch). Hardrada, towering above his men, led from the front. But an arrow to the throat felled him where he stood, and with his death, the Viking era in England came to an end. Tostig died beside him. Of the 300 longships that had sailed into the Humber, only 24 returned. The dream of a Norse kingdom in England died that day at Stamford Bridge.

Three weeks later, Harold Godwinson himself would fall at Hastings to William of Normandy, and York, like the rest of England, would be drawn into the Norman age. But York’s story remained one of resilience. From Ragnar’s prophecy, to Bloodaxe’s bloody reign, to Hardrada’s doomed gamble, the city was at the centre of battles that shaped England. Once the capital of the Danelaw – a land apart where Viking law thrived – it is now the home of York City FC, carrying forward the same stubborn, fighting spirit.

This new Hummel shirt captures that story in thread and stitch. Longboats shimmer in the fabric, runes mark the back, and the White Rose sits with pride. Just as Viking jewellery once displayed wealth and identity in Jórvík, so too does this shirt declare who York City FC are today.

When the Minstermen take to the pitch in red this season, they do so carrying a history of longboats, kings, battles, and a city that never surrendered its spirit.