How a lower-league team from an English fishing town launched the most desirable kits of the summer

A lower-league club with deep roots in England’s fishing industry is using Italian ties to market next season’s most eye-catching kits. Grimsby Town, based near the River Humber in Lincolnshire, has teamed again with Italian sportswear company Lotto after digging into its archives for inspiration. The club’s marketing head Jack Johnson said the goal was “storytelling,” building a jersey that is unapologetically Grimsby rather than an off-the-shelf design. Grimsby’s away kit nods to a 1996 Lotto collaboration that mirrored AC Milan’s light-blue fourth kit, and the modern reimagining will be worn starting away matches this season, beginning at Walsall on August 22. The new away shirt was unveiled in a video released July 13, shot in Naples, which drew nearly 800,000 views on X within a week. First-team players Cameron McJannet and Geza David Turi modeled the outfit.