Bellshill Athletic mark major milestone by launching limited edition kit in partnership with BMX Bandits
The North Lanarkshire side are paying homage to becoming the first professional football club in the UK to acquire a shirt sponsor
2025 marks a few reasons for celebration for not just Bellshill Athletic Football Club but the town.
Firstly, it marks 10 years of Rockburn Park being the North Lanarkshire side's permanent home. After spending years being homeless, the West of Scotland Second Division outfit had a small patch of their town to host football games.
Secondly, Bellshill royalty and the band that started 'The Bellshill Beat' - The BMX Bandits - celebrate 40 years since they began in the town. Duglas Stewart has fronted the band which has had some incredible local talent in the line up since its formation. Names including Sean Dickson, Norman Blake, David Scott and Eugene Kelly.
Finally, Bellshill mark this year by becoming one of the first football club's in the UK to have a shirt sponsor. Local resident Andrew Goodwin secured the club's first ever sponsor with local pub 'The Derby' for the start of the 1975/76 season.
And what better way to mark this year than with a limited edition replica shirt from that campaign featuring the iconic BMX Bandits logo (famously worn by fan Kurt Cobain).
The shirt costs £40 plus P&P if required and comes in sizes 4/5 years - 4XL. If you would be interested in the shirt, please send the club a message through their social media platforms or by clicking HERE.
Bellshill Athletic chairman David Brown told GlasgowWorld: “Ever since we came into the Club over three years ago, we've been really conscious that we need to keep engaging with the local community, but also reconnecting with the history of the Club, and all the good things that Bellshill is known for.
“The fact that Bellshill Athletic were the first ever professional (or semi-professional) club in the UK to have acquired a shirt sponsor is remarkable and it's fitting that we can mark the occasion by recreating that particular kit, but at the same time putting a modern twist on it that nods to another part of the town's history, and the 'Bellshill Beat'.
“A huge thanks goes to Duglas of the BMX Bandits for allowing this collaboration and we really hope that the strip appeals to both the supporters of the Club and fans of the band. The Club have been at Rockburn Park for 10 years now also, which is a great achievement considering all of the nomadic years that preceded that.”