How Tottenham are celebrating 'historic achievement' in FA Cup tie against Aston Villa with special edition kit

TNT Sports

Tottenham Hotspur started their FA Cup third round tie in north London against Aston Villa wearing a newly designed home kit. The club announced that the change was in order to commemorate their 1901 FA Cup win, almost 125 years ago. The change did not alter the club's fortunes for the better, as Emi Buendia and then Morgan Rogers put the visitors 2-0 up in the first half.

Tottenham Hotspur have revealed the reason why they are wearing a new home kit for their Emirates FA Cup tie against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Thomas Frank’s men were drawn against Villa in the third round, with the tie being held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

The shirt is in a lilywhite shade of white, with a retro club crest adorning its front, without any player names above the number on the back.

The shorts and socks are a navy blue colour.

The club released a statement explaining the change on their official website, stating that the decision was to commemorate their FA Cup triumph in 1901. Their win in April of that year, roughly 125 years ago, marked the only time that a club had won the FA Cup as a non-league side.

The club would go on to win the tournament another seven times, making it eight in total. Their most recent was in 1991.

Their latest trophy came when they won the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final under former manager Ange Postecoglou. That ended a drought for a major title since their League Cup win in 2007/8.

They wrote in their statement: "Back in April, 1901, 125 years ago, we became the first and only ever non-league club to win the FA Cup.

"To commemorate the historic achievement, our men’s first team will wear a special edition 1901 kit during tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie against Aston Villa, unveiled in collaboration with Nike.

"The special edition shirt features a heritage crest which, along with our sponsor logos, will appear in lilywhite, and no player surnames feature on the back, with only the shirt number visible. The shirts will be auctioned via MatchWornShirt, with part of the proceeds donated to the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to continue its work in local schools and transforming lives across the community.

"The shirt is launched with an accompanying campaign film Carved From Our History, centring on a marble relief sculpture of the 1901 shirt, capturing every detail and texture of the shirt through exceptional craftsmanship, designed by artist Alasdair Thomson."

Tottenham’s kit did little to help the side in their quest to improve their recent form under current boss Frank.

They suffered the loss of Brazilian striker Richarlison to injury in the first half as they ended the period 2-0 down after two strikes, first from Villa playmaker Emi Buendia, and then his team-mate Morgan Rogers.

However, Wilson Odobert pulled a goal back after the break to give the north Londoners some hope.

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Richarlison appeared to suffer a hamstring injury, which may exacerbate a shortage of forward players after Brennan Johnson was sold to Crystal Palace earlier in the January transfer window, for a fee believed to be around £35 million.

The club are expected to sign Brazilian 19-year-old left-back Souza from Santos.

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