After making headlines with the sausage-themed football strip dubbed Britain’s ugliest, an amateur squad has unveiled its new ‘hot dog’ kit.
Bedale AFC, who are sponsored by North Yorkshire food firm HECK, last year achieved notoriety with their garish kit.
Chairman Martyn Coombs, 63, admits being taken aback when the company’s marketing team first presented the ‘interesting design’.
The club’s chairman has proudly pronounced this year’s kit (above) even uglier than the last season’s (below)
But he says this year’s is even bolder, featuring a large hot dog in a bun with a double helix of ketchup and mustard.
The numbers on the back of their shirts are made out of sausage shapes and sit below the slogan ‘You’ll Never Pork Alone’, a nod to Liverpool’s signature song.
Martyn, who has been involved with the club since 1977, believes the strip is even uglier than last year.
Not only are the numbers comprised of sausage, the reverse features a pork-themed pun on the Liverpool slogan ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’
Then and now: Last year’s horrific kit (left) has been replaced by another (right) that the manager freely admits gives every player the appearance of a hot dog
‘I like it better than last year because it is worse,’ he said. ‘I think this one certainly stands out more.
‘Last year’s kit looks like an orange shirt with pink shorts from far away and as you get closer you can identify the sausages.
‘This one looks 11 hot dogs running around on the pitch, it’s certainly more significant and noticeable.
‘The players actually feel good in it because it’s something unique, something different.
‘Other clubs play in red or yellow or green. I think the other team spend most of the time looking at the shirts rather than the players, we think it gives us an advantage!’
Last year’s kit was a huge hit on football websites such as Who Ate All the Pies and UK Soccer Shop – who put them as favourite to win the ‘Worst Kit of the Season’ award.
The club’s sponsors are sausage company HECK, who are based in Bedale, North Yorkshire close to the squad
The club’s chairman loves the fact that this year’s kit is even uglier than the one that earned Bedale AFC its original notoriety
It made the headlines in a number of countries including the USA, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, France and Sweden.
The club, which was formed in 1933, began selling the striking shirts online due to high demand and even produced sausage-themed umbrellas and cycling jerseys.
The new shirts also bear the club crest and the Prostate Cancer logo. The team regularly carry out charity work for Team Garby – an online fundraising page set up following the death of their friend Steve Garbett from prostate cancer in 2014. They have so far raised over £144,000 for Prostate Cancer UK.