English Premier League club Aston Villa is turning back the clock to celebrate its 150th anniversary later this week.

The club unveiled a special anniversary kit on Tuesday, January 7, and will wear it for their Emirates FA Cup third-round match against West Ham United on Friday, January 10 — almost 150 years to the day of what Villa claims to be their first recorded match in January 1875.

The anniversary jersey is all black, matching what players wore in 1878, when the first squad photo was taken. Those shirts also featured a red lion rampant on the front, making Villa the first club in the United Kingdom to put a crest on their playing kits. The 2025 kits mirror this with a red lion rampant in the crest on the left chest, which is inspired by league champion medals from the 1890s. The red lion is surrounded by “ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB” in a font inspired by the gates at Villa Park and a ribbon underneath with the club motto, “PREPARED”.

The Adidas logo on the chest and stripes on the shoulders are black to blend in with the rest of the shirt, which also won’t have Villa’s usual sponsor logos on the chest and sleeve. It will, however, have Aston Villa’s 150th anniversary logo on the back collar and a design on the jock tag inspired by the stained glass windows at Villa Park. “The two-way glass is a reminder to celebrate our heritage by looking back, but also to build progressively in the same spirit by looking forward,” the club says on its website.

None of the photos accompanying Tuesday’s unveiling showed how names and numbers would appear on the backs of the black jerseys. They also didn’t show the shorts and socks the jerseys would be paired with, but it’s likely Villa will go with white shorts and black socks to match the 1878 team photo.

Along with the kits, Villa is also celebrating its 150th anniversary at Friday’s match with a pre-game ceremony, a commemorative programme and select items at concessions and in the club shop available for just £1.50.