The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Saints, Saints, super-sized Saints: Perth club goes big
FOOTBALL: New kits come in huge 7XL size... but there’s still a more modest XXL option available
St Johnstone are catering for supersized supporters by launching the country’s first XXXXXXXL strip.
The massive replica shirt is part of a new range of kits launched for the start of the 2018-19 season.
The Perth club have teamed up with Australian-based kit designer BLK Sport for the first time and revealed the design of the away kit this week.
The maroon strip has been designed as a tribute to one of the club’s earliest colour schemes and will be followed shortly by a more traditional blue home shirt.
However, it is the epic size of the 7XL shirt which has provoked comments from supporters of the Mcdiarmid Park side.
Chic Mcdonald, 52, from Perth, said: “I’m not skinny by any means but anyone needing to buy a 7XL shirt really needs to have a look at their lifestyle.
“One or two St Johnstone fans might be carrying a bit of timber but I’m not sure how many 7XL shirts they will sell in a season.
“I might suggest that if you are the sort of size that needs a shirt like that, then maybe a football strip wouldn’t be the most flattering thing to wear.”
A spokesman for St Johnstone said: “Our new partner BLK have their background in rugby where the requirement for kit for bigger-built players is not unusual.
“They then found that there was some interest from supporters for those larger sizes of replica kit. We don’t anticipate a huge demand from the slim, fit people of Perthshire – but BLK have given us a very small number of 5XL and 7XL jerseys to cover all eventualities.”
The new 7XL strip – created to fit fans with a whopping 52-inch waist and 58-inch chest – is thought to be the biggest replica football strip on sale in the United Kingdom.
The shirt, which costs £40, is also available in more modest XXXXXL, XXXL, XXL, XL, and a variety of standard sizes.