What should you do if you have close to 3,000 football shirts? If you’re Arjan Wijngaard, a Dutch football lover and collector, you set aside a room at home as an exhibition area and keep track of each shirt you purchase in a detailed online database. Beginning with an Everton kit he received in 1997, Arjan has been collecting jerseys from all over the world for the past 25 years. He currently possesses one of the largest, if not the biggest, private stash in Europe.
What inspired him to start a shirt collection? Naturally, I enjoyed football. If you wish to collect shirts, it is an important consideration. I chose shirts for no specific purpose, though. Some individuals choose scarves; I myself own a few since, when I go to a stadium or a game, if I can’t get a shirt, I attempt to buy a scarf. However, perhaps I should have gone with scarves or pins; they are far less expensive and take up less room!
It is simple to understand what he means if you go through Arjan’s showroom. Racks mounted on the walls creak under the heavy weight of his collection. In an otherwise omnipresent banquet of colour, the entrance is a strange rectangle of white.
Two mannequins dressed in blue and green attire are also shown in the window. It is a true sacrarium of jerseys from both illustrious and obscure clubs. “In general, I like to acquire clothes from clubs that are challenging to find,” adds Arjan. Steps 9 and 10 of the English pyramids, for instance, or clubs from nations not well-known for their football, like New Zealand or Tanzania, are examples of lower and non-league competition.
There were a few reasons why Arjan created the website Voetbal Shirts to display his shirts. It is first and foremost for display purposes. In the event of a fire or robbery, the insurance will need to demonstrate that I had all the shirts.
Additionally, having my collection online makes it simpler for me to see what I already own, particularly when I am searching for new ones online or when I am in foreign stores.
Arjan used to buy shirts five times a year abroad, with around half of those trips going to Britain, before the pandemic. However, he admits that it isn’t always practical. “I prefer to personally purchase them from the club shop close to the stadium.” Other options include online club shops, eBay, Facebook groups, other Dutch and international collectors, and Twitter. I have developed contacts all across the world over the years, and that is also a pleasant aspect of collecting.
