Inspiration

Stories from the arm

Every armband says something about the team that wears it. Here we show a few — from the top league to the playground, from the pitch to the third half — and explain why they work. Read along, and take an idea with you for your own band.

Professional football · featured

One match, one band: Sparta – PSV

On 6 May 2023 Sparta's captain wore a band that was used exactly once. Both club crests, the date, the opponent. After the final whistle it did not go back in the bag; it went to the display cabinet. More and more clubs turn every home match into a small monument this way — and it costs less than you think.

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Netherlands

Spain

Czech Republic

Countries & tournaments

Orange on the arm — and 74 other countries

The country band is the classic. At a Euros or a World Cup it is everywhere: in the schoolyard, at the neighbourhood tournament, on the campsite in France. But the best-selling country band in our shop is not the Netherlands. It is the Czech Republic.

That is down to one club. An amateur club with a large Czech contingent ordered them first for the captain, then for the whole team, and then for the youth tournament they organise every year. It often goes like that: a country band is rarely just a band for the captain. It is a way of showing where you come from, or where your grandparents come from. A flag is made to be recognised from afar — big areas, few colours. Exactly what works best on a band eight centimetres wide.

Rotterdam

Utrecht

City & region

Stronger through struggle

Rotterdam's coat of arms carries a motto that might as well have been written for every captain. Regional bands are the shop's quiet bestsellers: Utrecht has been on top for years, with Rotterdam, Limburg and The Hague behind it.

Why does a city work better than a club? Because a club already has a band. A team that plays in Utrecht plays in the club's colours — but the captain wants to show who he plays for. The city band is neutral enough for any club and still personal. And at a derby it is a statement without a single word on it. For most cities we have two versions: the colours with the name on them, and the coat of arms. The name reads from afar, the crest is prettier up close.

Rainbow with C

Progress

A band with a message

Eight centimetres to say something with

The captain is the only player allowed to wear something during the match that is not part of the kit. That makes the band the place for a message: respect, no discrimination, the rainbow. Short, visible, and the club's own.

The rainbow band became known through professional football, but most of the ones we make go to amateur clubs that put their own spin on it. A club from the east put "everyone plays" on it. A futsal team chose the progress flag because two players asked for it — and the rest of the team agreed at once. A band changes nothing, but it shows the team has talked about it. That is a lot already. On a busy background a letter disappears fast.

Panther

Panther pink

Prints

The panther is the captain

With girls' and women's teams it goes differently. The captain does not pick a band, the team picks a print. And then it is panther, cow spots or pink camouflage. Panther has been the shop's best-selling print for three years.

The reason is simple: the print belongs to the team, not the club. It is a band you recognise off the pitch as well — in the team photo, in the dressing room, in the Instagram story after the match. No club crest is needed, because the panther is the crest. And the C on it is the only thing that says this is a captain's band. A print has to run on: the band goes round the arm and the seam sits on the inside, so the pattern must not have a hard edge anywhere.

BHV

EHBO

Off the pitch

Who is the first aider here?

The same band, a different field. At a festival, on a school trip or in an office it has to be clear at a glance who to find when something happens. A fluorescent yellow band with three letters does that better than a vest hanging in the cupboard.

The first-aid band is our best-selling band outside sport. It is elastic, so it fits over a coat and over a T-shirt, and it goes in the washing machine. Companies order it with the first aider's name on it, or with the company logo beside it — then you see at once who belongs to which organisation at a shared event.

Kapitein pils

Beer

The third half

Captain Pils

Not every captain plays. Some lead the third half. For them there is a band with foam on the edge — and for years it has been one of the nicest things we make.

The beer band started as a joke for a stag party and became a category of its own. "Hand over that beer", "Captain Pils", "Pilske" for our Belgian customers: these are bands worn more on a Saturday night in the clubhouse than the real captain's band on the pitch. We print the head of foam along the whole top of the band, so it looks right from every side. This is the category where people most often get to work themselves.

Spielführer

Capitano

In every language

Aanvoerder, Captain, Spielführer, Capitano

A third of our bands cross the border. To Germany and Belgium most of all, but also to a club in Malta, a university team in Florida and a club in Vienna that has existed since 1894. They all order the same thing: the word for captain, in their language, in their colours.

It is striking how different the same word looks. "Spielführer" is long and only fits a narrow, tall typeface. "Captain" on the American flag needs an outline, or it vanishes among the stars. "Capitano" on green, white and red is almost beautiful by itself. For every country we made the version that reads best on the arm, and you can open every one of them in the designer to add a name. And of course: plain "Aanvoerder" on red, white and blue, or "Kapitein" — Flemish clubs ask for that one more often.

Which sport?

The same band, a different field

Our bands are elastic and come in five sizes, from youth to senior-plus. They are worn in more sports than you would think. Something to keep in mind per sport:

Football
Compulsory in the Dutch FA, youth included. Any colour. Most clubs pick 8 cm; keepers often 10 cm over the long sleeve.
Hockey
Compulsory in the Dutch hockey federation. Often in the club colour; the band goes round the upper arm and not over the keeper's sleeve.
Korfball
The captain is known by the band; many teams pick a print because the club colours are already on the shirt.
Handball & indoor
Indoor sports want a snug band that does not slide on contact: 6 cm stitched, no velcro.
Water polo
On the arm while swimming in and along the side; in the water the captain wears the federation's cap. Ask us about the ink and chlorine.
Outside sport
First aid, events, school, stag parties. See the story above.

They wear our band

Clubs that had their captain's armband made by us

Your story starts with an empty band

Pick a band from the collection and make it yours, or start from scratch. You see it in 3D on the arm before you order — from one piece, shipped within two working days.

Design your own band Standard armbands