Shine bright like a diamond: Barca's new home kit honours historic women's team

Barcelona have revealed that their new home kit for the 2023-24 season will stand as a tribute to their absurdly successful, record-breaking women’s team.

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The jersey is inspired by a team made up of members of the Barca women’s supporters’ club, which became the first female side ever to play at the Camp Nou in 1971.

The shirt itself, created with the concept “Here to lead the way,” sees a return for extra broad blaugrana stripes that are instantly reminiscent of Barca kits from the mid-2000s, though eagle-eyed fans may have also spotted that the club crest has also undergone a bit of a revamp.

Indeed, a shimmering diamond graphic has been set into the famous FCB shield badge as a reference to the shape of the original crest first used by FC Barcelona Femeni over 50 years ago. The symbolic diamond theme then continues in the jagged detailing found on the edges of the emblematic blue and red stripes.

The Barcelona Femeni story actually began in 1970 when supporter Inma Cabeceran wrote a letter to then-Barca president Agusti Montal i Costa, proposing that a women’s football team be established. This led to a women’s side initially known as Pena Femenina Barcelonista (PFB) playing in a behind-closed-doors exhibition match at Camp Nou.

The match generated enough local interest that an FC Barcelona women’s supporters’ club was formed the following year, with the club adopting the rhombus-shaped PFB crest as their own. Another 17 years passed until, in 1988, the supporters’ club was able to form their very own football team, playing under the same badge.

However, despite being effectively formed over half a century ago, it wasn’t until 2002 that Barca Femeni were officially adopted and moved in-house by the Barcelona hierarchy. Since then they have become one of the most-decorated teams in the modern women’s game, winning eight Liga F titles and two UEFA Women’s Champions League crowns among a clutch of other major honours.

Along the way they have made history, repeatedly setting records for the biggest attendances in the history of the women’s game as well as recording an incredible run of 62 consecutive league wins, which was ended last month with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla.

They even have a two-time Ballon d’Or winner among their squad with Alexia Putellas taking the honour in 2020 and then again 2021 after guiding her side to their first Champions League triumph and an absolutely flawless league title in which Barca won every single one of their 26 fixtures.

Putellas and men’s team striker Robert Lewandowski were among the stars who modelled the jersey that the club hope they’ll be wearing when they retain their league titles next season.