Cwmbran Celtic FC said they "couldn't believe it" when Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten wore the club's away shirt during the band's headline set at Reading Festival. The Ardal South East League side has now offered Chatten a lifetime season ticket.
Shirt worn on main stage
The green and white strip was worn by Chatten as Fontaines DC performed a number of their best-known songs on Friday night, including In The Modern World and Starburster, as well as their new single Marianne.
Some fans questioned why Chatten was wearing the Welsh club's kit, to which Cwmbran Celtic responded: "Grian is a pure legend." The club added that he is "supporting the club and grassroots music venues" by wearing the away shirt.
Kit made with independent bands
The strip, produced by Newport-based manufacturer Tor Sports, is inspired by the distinctive green and white hoops of Cwmbran's Scottish counterparts Celtic. It carries Scottish rock band Mogwai as its sponsor.
It is one of Cwmbran Celtic's four first-team shirts that the club fronts with independent bands – Super Furry Animals, Mogwai, Panic Shack, and Loose Articles – rather than selling to sponsors.
Explaining the decision, the club said: "Grassroots football and grassroots music are fighting the same fight. Both run on passion and tight budgets and when either one goes a town loses something it does not easily get back."
Profits support grassroots causes
All profits from the kit support Cwmbran Celtic, while 10% goes to Music Venue Trust, which supports grassroots music venues across the UK.
This is not the first kit Fontaines DC have been associated with. "Bohemian FC in Dublin put Fontaines DC on their kit in exactly the spirit ours was made — a small club and a band deciding that the space where a betting company usually goes could say something else instead," the Welsh club said.
