Ajax’s Bob Marley tribute ‘Three Little Birds’ shirt banned by UEFA

UEFA has banned Ajax from wearing a ‘Three Little Birds’ motif on the back of their Bob Marley-inspired third kit.

The shirt originally had three birds — in red, yellow, and green — sewn just underneath the back of the collar, commemorating the 1977 reggae classic.

Fans noticed the absence of the birds during Ajax’s 2-0 away win over PEC Zwolle on Saturday, the first time that the club had worn their alternate shirt.

Commenting on the removal of the detail, the Amsterdam club said: "The European Football Association [UEFA] sees it as a different expression than the club logo, logo clothing sponsor or sleeve sponsor. Other expressions are not allowed."

The relevant passage in the UEFA regulations is Article 7 of the UEFA Equipment Regulations.

“Collar zone: this area may only contain team identification in accordance with Paragraph 19.01. The collar zone must be free of any manufacturer identifications or sponsor advertising.”

A UEFA statement said: "When the manufacturer presented for pre-approval the away shirt sample of Ajax back in September 2020, as per the usual process, UEFA informed them that according to the UEFA Equipment Regulations (Article 19), the birds could not be displayed on the back of the collar zone of the team shirt as this area is reserved only to team identifications.

"The three birds being a tribute to Bob Marley’s song do not represent a team identification of Ajax as set out in Article 13 of the Equipment Regulations. Therefore, the display of the birds together with the crosses was not approved for UEFA competitions.

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"The pre-approval process with the manufacturers is designed to avoid any last-minute issues when the final kits are sent for approval, and also allows manufacturers to ensure proposed designs are in line with both domestic and UEFA Equipment Regulations, and if not to make any appropriate changes before production starts.

"In this instance the manufacturer was aware the inclusion was not in line with UEFA Equipment Regulations, and was given the options about how the design could be adapted to be conformant with UEFA regulations, however they made the decision on this occasion to maintain the original design and keep a different version of the shirt for use in UEFA competitions."

The shirt had been exceptionally popular amongst fans, with the club’s marketing manager Menno Geelen reporting that the jersey had “sold at least four times more than any other Ajax jersey”.

What’s the connection between Ajax and Bob Marley?

Ajax’s link with Bob Marley first began in August 2008, during a pre-season friendly against Cardiff City. With the fans waiting in their seats after the game, Cardiff stadium announcer Ali Yassine played the song to a rapturous reception. The Ajax fans sang along to it and it was adopted as a club anthem.

Speaking at the time of the kit’s launch, Marley’s daughter Cedella Marley said: "I am beyond touched that Ajax has taken 'Three Little Birds' and made it their anthem. Stories like this warm my heart and show how impactful songs like 'Three Little Birds' can be. Soccer was everything to my father and to use his words, 'football is freedom'."

In 2018, his son Ky-Mani travelled to Ajax to sing the song on the pitch with fans, and spoke enthusiastically about the experience.

“My father was a big football fan, and football and the music went hand in hand. Being able to perform the song there, to feel the energy and the vibration there that day did something to me I’ll never forget. Ajax, that’s my team.”

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Have UEFA banned any other kits before?

Kit bans are more common than you might think. The most recent example is Ukraine’s Euro 2020 kit, which featured both an outline of Crimea, annexed by Russia, and the phrase “glory to the heroes”.

UEFA told Ukraine that they could keep the outline, but had to get rid of the slogan for its “historical and military” connotations.

Serie A have also imposed regulations, telling their member clubs that they cannot wear predominantly green shirts from the 2022-23 season. This is reportedly over fears from television companies that the pitch colour might clash with the jersey.

(Photos: Getty Images, Adidas)