Cardiff City Football Club, based in Cardiff, United Kingdom, competes in EFL League One, and its origins trace back to a foundation on 1 January 1899, formed as Riverside A.F.C. and later renamed. Founded in 1899, the club’s long history is central to the shirts and signatures Walkouts lists for collectors, with early crest changes and long-running kit styles forming much of the provenance narrative.
Cardiff moved into organised competition in the Southern Football League before joining the English Football League in 1920, and the side’s home moved from Ninian Park to the modern Cardiff City Stadium in 2009. The stadium, Ninian Park and original crests are recurring motifs on commemorative shirts and replica runs, tying era, venue and design to a garment’s desirability.
On the pitch Cardiff holds unique honours, most famously winning the FA Cup in 1927 and lifting domestic trophies in Welsh competition, including 22 Welsh Cups. The club’s long-serving figures, such as Billy Hardy and Len Davies, are often linked to signature provenance, and the IFFHS ranks the club 501 worldwide, a useful data point when cataloguing global interest.
Anniversary releases after 1970 have produced sought-after pieces, notably the Centenary 1999 special-crest shirts and the 2019 120 years commemorative badge run, both issued in limited retail runs and appearing in club shop catalogues. These anniversary editions are chased because they combine a clear celebratory theme with short production runs and period-correct crest or sleeve detail.
Specific seasons drive demand: the 2007-08 FA Cup campaign that ended at Wembley, the 2012-13 Championship title season and the 2017-18 promotion campaign each produced retail and player-issue variants that collectors seek. Shirts from finals, promotion-clinching fixtures and title seasons are prized because they are tied to an identifiable moment, patch usage and match programmes or photography that confirm provenance.
Iconic away designs also matter, for example the 2007-08 Yellow FA Cup away shirt which is linked to a cup run and is commonly found with player signatures or match-worn provenance. Fanshop and retail-issued shirts are explicitly collected alongside match-worn examples; early retail runs, player-issue variants and region-specific releases create variants that attract signatures and confirmed provenance, and documentation such as COA adds measurable reassurance.
When shopping for signed Cardiff shirts collectors look for era cues like a Ninian Park tag, Wembley final photography, and provenance attached to specific campaigns, notably Centenary 1999 and the 2012-13 Championship title season, which together explain why items from 2007-08 and 2012-13 return regularly to market. Walkouts closes listings with clear provenance notes and framing options for shirts from the FA Cup final and title-winning campaigns to aid display and enjoyment.
