Ajax's classic shirt came about after a color clash with Sparta Rotterdam. Initially, the Amsterdam team played in all-black shirts, but soon switched to a red-and-white striped kit with black shorts. The colors were taken from the flag of Amsterdam. However, when the team first entered the Dutch top league in 1911, problems arose. The league, which was then called Eerste Klasse, did not have away shirts – and there was already a team playing in red-and-white stripes: Sparta Rotterdam. Ajax was then forced to change their home shirts, and the choice fell on a white shirt with a broad red stripe. The centrally placed red stripe bears a strong resemblance to Paris Saint-Germain's home shirt, but there is no historical connection between the two shirts.
Ajax's classic shirt came about after a color clash with Sparta Rotterdam. Initially, the Amsterdam team played in all-black shirts, but soon switched to a red-and-white striped kit with black shorts. The colors were taken from the flag of Amsterdam. However, when the team first entered the Dutch top league in 1911, problems arose. The league, which was then called Eerste Klasse, did not have away shirts – and there was already a team playing in red-and-white stripes: Sparta Rotterdam. Ajax was then forced to change their home shirts, and the choice fell on a white shirt with a broad red stripe. The centrally placed red stripe bears a strong resemblance to Paris Saint-Germain's home shirt, but there is no historical connection between the two shirts.