Here at FourFourTwo, we marked our 30th anniversary with a special magazine recently – then followed it up with a celebration event in London.
On a chilly evening, a whole host of readers, VIP guests, musicians and former footballers were in attendance inside the impressive Classic Football Shirts store at Aldgate East, the walls adorned with pretty much every famous jersey from yesteryear that you care to imagine.
For one night only, they were accompanied by TV screens showing past FFT magazine covers, too.
Quiz time
FourFourTwo’s head of video Adam Clery kicked things off with a quiz to win a Manchester City home shirt signed by reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, plus a red-and-black-striped limited edition FFT 30th anniversary shirt, specially made by Admiral to mark the milestone, and is available to buy here.
Which non-league club were once the first in Britain to have a sponsor emblazoned across their jerseys? Which national team were banned from wearing a onesie kit in 2004? If guests didn’t know the answers to those quiz questions at the start of the evening, they certainly knew by the end.
Among those in the audience was drummer Woody from the band Bastille – the Plymouth Argyle fan has recently launched his own football podcast, Away Days, alongside fellow drummer Piers Hewitt from the band Boxer Rebellion.
View our gallery from the evening
Then it was time for TNT Sports presenter and FFT magazine columnist Jules Breach to take to the stage as host for a Q&A with the night’s special guests, Paul Merson and Ray Parlour, both popular members of Arsenal's squad when FourFourTwo launched in 1994.
They’d later finish up with a huge 883 Gunners appearances between the two of them.
“I remember the magazine very well when it started, I’d read it and there was really good content in it,” Parlour told us.
“It’s great to be here for this, 30 years… we’re all getting old now, that’s the problem, when you say 30 years, I’m going ‘Oh no!’
“Football was a little different then, I made my debut in 1991-92, there were a lot more British people in the league, then the foreign guys came in and probably made it better.”
Merson looks through his shirts
During the evening, Merson also talked us through a collection of shirts he wore during his career, for a video you’ll be able to see on our YouTube channel and social media soon.
Members of the public walking down the street outside paused and did a double take as they glanced through the window and spotted Merse looking at his bruised banana kit, from the early 1990s. A Gunners shirt to remember.
Parlour also sat down with FFT for an in-depth chat through a career that saw him win three league titles with Arsenal and depart gloriously as an Invincible – look out for that in an upcoming issue of the magazine.
Huge thanks to...
The event was made extra special by our friends at Guinness who kindly sponsored the evening's drinks, stocking us with pints of the black stuff and even branding each pint with our iconic logo.
We'd like to thank the team at Classic Football Shirts for hosting us in their fantastic London store – the perfect backdrop to celebrate this landmark occasion.
