Crystal Palace will wear the special edition blue and white third kit, which is inspired by the club’s first ever playing kit, against Millwall this Saturday (January 8th) in the FA Cup, in recognition of their involvement in the very first edition of the tournament in 1871/72.
Palace played Hitchin Town in the first round, and reached the semi-finals that year.
This season marks the club’s 160th anniversary, and is being celebrated after the uncovering of new archive evidence which clearly shows a direct lineage between the club established at the Crystal Palace in 1861 and the professional setup established in 1905.
After playing its first recorded game in March 1862, the club was a founding father of the Football Association in 1863 and helped establish the rules of the sport, as documented in the original FA minutes book.
The club’s commemorative third shirt was so popular with supporters it sold out in record time, but the new 1861 Range is available now.
Last October, the club entered a squad of former players into The Generation Cup, a celebratory tournament featuring nine FA Cup founding clubs, and reached the Finals Day which will be held in March.
