Cheltenham’s mint, mush!
The town. Its club. And now, our brand new away shirt.
We officially unveiled our change strip this morning and it’s now available to purchase online or in person at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.
It’s something different and effortlessly cool – just like the place we call home – and it will be worn by the players for the first time tomorrow in our second home friendly of the summer against Birmingham City.
The new shirt is matched by black shorts and mint socks and is once again produced by Erreà. It features our neighbours and principal partners at Mira Showers for a 16th consecutive season, alongside our kit partners at HGV Drivers UK.
And we’re using this moment to celebrate this week’s opening of the Oakley Interactive Space, a new digital, immersive storytelling experience right on our doorstep.
A new way to tell stories
We took this summer's photoshoot to the Oakley Interactive Space. It’s in the shadow of the Completely-Suzuki Stadium and around the corner from the home of Mira.
Gloucestershire Libraries was recently awarded £250,000 by Arts Council England to create the innovative new learning experience in Clyde Crescent. Its facilities are designed for people of all ages, providing free training and support to help with literacy and learning skills. It is also a resource to use both digitally and within the space itself to support the growth of countywide home educators.
It was officially launched last Saturday and we were one of the first people to visit it, showcasing its technology in our latest kit reveal. The immersive reality room will provide a 3D, interactive digital experience where images can be projected around the walls so for our shoot we used our record breaking season ticket video, featuring hundreds of our fans. Can you spot yourself?
“Gloucestershire Libraries are so excited to be part of Cheltenham Town's kit launch this summer,” said Liz Vella, Development Officer (Family Focus) at Gloucestershire Libraries.
“The brand new immersive space is now open to the public on Clyde Crescent and everyone is welcome. There will be regular free events and activities, bespoke library collections, exciting technology and interactive experiences in the immersive room.
“In the future we'll be working with the community and our partners to develop young digital talent, creating a vibrant and skilled workforce for the local area. We hope to see plenty of Robins fans in the future and experience the new facility for themselves.”
This week also sees the launch of The Library Challenge. It encourages children aged three to 12 years old and their families to discover everything their local library service has to offer for free. Booking in advance is advised. Pop along to see our friends in Clyde Crescent and take a look at the new facility for yourself – it's mint!
Our shoot
We were joined by Aidan Keena, Lewis Freestone, James Olayinka and Adulai Sambu on the day of our shoot. Cam Walters and Freddie Willcox represented our Academy and Holly Finch and Charlie Taylor the Cheltenham Town Ladies squad.
Freddie signed for the club as a 12-year-old, joining from the club’s development centre and is a regular in the Under-18s. The young midfielder is an example to all of the scholars and was rewarded with a first team debut against Charlton Athletic in the final game of the 2022/23 season. He has featured in all four summer friendlies, scoring two against Swindon Supermarine last week.
Cam also joined the club at a young age and made his Under-18s debut at the age of 15. The defender became the club’s youngest ever player when he made his first team debut in the Papa John's Trophy group stage match against West Ham United Under-21s while studying for his GCSEs. He was aged 16 years and nine days at the time and appeared in the opening two matches against Evesham United and Swindon Supermarine.
Meanwhile Cheltenham-born central defender Holly is a former Rowanfield Junior School student while Charlie is a Wales Under-17 international midfielder and has previously played in the Women's Super League.
Both will play a key part of the squad that will look to create another piece of history in the third tier of the game, building on an eighth place finish in their inaugural FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division campaign last season. Season ticket card holders will be able to watch their games for free at their new home in Bishop's Cleeve.
“As we enter our 16th year as principal partner to the club and head into the 2023/24 season, it makes us very proud to be able to support Cheltenham Town in sending out both its men’s and women’s teams in the new away kit featuring the Mira Showers branding. We can’t wait to see both sides out on the pitch," said Emma Foster, Managing Director at Mira.
The shoot itself was directed by Tom Barton who has previously worked with England, the Lionesses and a range of Premier League clubs while our behind-the-scenes video has once again been scored by ardent fan and producer Nigel Groom. Designer Sam Foote brought the idea to life through his design. We can’t thank you all enough for your support.
The important stuff
Our new shirt is manufactured by Erreà in Ti-Energy 3.0 fabric, which is Oeko-Tex certified and combines two state-of-the art technologies. Zinc oxide particles, permanently encapsulated within the fibres, have anti-viral and anti-microbial qualities. Minusnine J1+ treatment of the fabric makes it semi-impermeable to liquids. This dual effect allows the fabric to form an effective barrier against droplets, liquids, bacteria and viruses.
The shirt is priced £45 for adults (£35 juniors) with shorts £20 (£18) and socks £12 (£10). A sizing guide is available in our online store. Our shop is open today between 10am and 3pm for in-person purchases. You can also buy online with Click & Collect – purchases made online will be available for collection today and tomorrow, before and after the match. Our shop opens at midday.
Tickets for the game against Birmingham City are cheaper to buy in advance online. Kick-off at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium is at 3pm.
