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Reggae football shirt inspired by band Skindred

Newport County At front and centre, Skindred's lead singer Benji Webbe wears the new on-off kit design. He wears a black hat, black tinted glasses and has his hands on his hips. Other band members stand behind him within the record store, all with their arms crossed staring straight faced at the camera. Newport County
Skindred said the new-look shirt is all about love, togetherness and unity

Newport County has teamed up with Mobo-winning rockers Skindred to create a one-off shirt inspired by the city's Caribbean community.

Skindred reached number two in the UK charts last year with their album Smile, which fuses reggae, punk and heavy metal.

Lead singer Benji Webbe said: "Football and music unite people, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our hometown roots than by supporting Newport County."

The reggae design will feature on Newport’s kit for their League Two match against Carlisle on Saturday.

Mr Webbe, from the Pillgwenlly area of the city, said the band and Newport are joined at the hip, so for them to be part of the team's official kit is "something dreams are made of".

"The shirt for me is a Rasta style shirt,'' he added.

"Rasta for me is community, Rasta for me is love, and Rasta to me is togetherness, which is what Newport and this shirt is all about - love, togetherness and unity."

Newport County Close up shot of the black shirt, which features the stripes of the Caribbean colours in red, yellow and green and reads "Skindred" in their branding. The Newport County badge is yellow at the centre, with green, red and yellow around the rim. Newport County
Newport county, also known as the "exiles" will wear the kits against Carlisle at home on Saturday

They aren't the first musicians to put their backing behind the team either.

Another of Newport's most famous bands, Goldie Lookin' Chain, inspired a shirt in 2021.

Other collaborations include AFC Rumney under-14s girls team featuring 50 cent on their shirts last season, and singer Ed Sheeran previously sponsoring his beloved Ipswich Town.

Newport County chairman Huw Jenkins said the collaboration "underscores the power of community and shared pride in the city."