Best Football Themed Bobble Hats & Brands
Football Bobbles by The British Sock Fetish Council
This enterprise is ran by the same folk that run the British Sock Fetish Council (BSFC). It is safe to say, the BSFC have nailed the sock game. They’ve amassed a large number of members since forming who love their socks which are mostly football themed, but they also have iconic designs such as the Overlook Hotel floor pattern and Pub Carpets of Great Britain to name a couple.
BSFC have an associated website, Football Bobbles, where they list their football bobble hats along with bucket hats and prints too. Almost all their football themed hats resemble a retro pattern from the 80s or 90s, and some have iconic sponsors like McEwan’s Lager (Rangers & Blackburn), Newcastle Brown Ale (guess who) and VG who were the iconic sponsors of the famous Dundee United team who reached the 1987 UEFA Cup Final.
The Ferdinand
The first of a couple of notable mentions are The Ferdinand Hat based on the Newcastle United 1995/96 away kit. Of course, there are many other Newcastle players this could have been named after but Les Ferdinand was simply on fire that season with 29 goals, so Football Bobbles dedicated that one to him.
McEwan’s Lager
An iconic sponsor for more than one club. Of course, Blackburn Rovers enjoyed their finest moment wearing a short with this sponsor when they won the Premier League in 1995. However, the sponsor is hugely iconic in Scotland as McEwan’s sponsored Rangers for every single one of their 9 In A Row from 1989-1997. Football bobbles have hats which can be cap doffed to these legendary squads.
Casualco
Without a doubt, The Casual Connoisseur are leaders in this field. When I was younger, I had a perception that bobble hats were naff until I saw these ones. The same way BSFC don’t stick exclusively to football, Casual Co create a mix of hats and footballed themed ones are rarer than other categories they cater for.
The Weir Hat
Names ‘The Weir’ hat after Tom Weir MBE who become renowned for his beanie wearing while broadcasting on his hill climbs on TV Programme Weir’s Way.
It was mentioned that The Sock Council did the Overlook hotel socks before, The Casual Connoisseur were the first to pop the iconic design onto a fine piece of terrace wear. So much so that the director of Toy Story, who included the pattern on the floor when Buzz is acting the part of Mrs Nesbitt as a nod the 1980s thriller, ordered of the hats from the twins of Stockport.
COPA Football
The Dutch Maestros! Sorry, I had to say it.
This shop is as cool as anything and if you ever get a chance to view the physical store in Amsterdam 100% do that. They encapsulate all that it means to love football.
A few notable hats they have released are as follows.
Schmeichel Beanie
Another one that goes to show, fantastic retro football shirts make brilliant bobble hat designs. A great goalie who is well known for his time at Manchester United, but he also featured in the great Demark team who won the European Championships in Sweden 1992.
This hat is appropriately named after the great Goalie who sported this fantastic kit. It’s quite simply a belter, and so is the hat.
Socrates Beanie
This football beanie is based on a classic kit and attributed to a player who became synonymous with that design. This time is Fiorentina and the legend that is Sócrates. The kit itself was different in the sense that it didn’t have the crest covering the left breast, but it had a big f*** off emblem emblazoned in the middle of the shirt with the sponsor above it.
The mix of purple, white and red make for an interesting fusion of colours and the guys at COPA nailed it with simplicity in design.
Transilpino
Transalpino fast became the UK's No.1 deadstock trainer shop after their foundation in 2005. Transilpino’s bobble hats often take the same design but are released in a range of colourways.
The design itself contains pointy triangles with one larger than the rest which is the universal symbol for mountains which means these hats are targeted at those who strive for an adventure, whichever way you interpret the word.
Hailing from Liverpool, with they call a Scouse Entrepreneurial Spirit, Transilpino are up there when it comes to considerations as to where to buy your bobble hat for the terrace in the winter months. Of course, you don’t need to pick on brand, and many collectors don’t. Transilpino should be on the wish list they aren’t already.
The Famous Headwear
This brand is formed by Rangers fans who focus specifically on designs that celebrate the history of football’s most decorated club. What makes these hats special is that each one is hand made, and although some say they are highly priced, the quality of these hats’ accounts for that. They really will last you a long time.
In a similar way to Football Bobbles and COPA, The Famous Headwear also takes a lot of inspiration from retro kits. The design of a kit is not all that makes it classical, but also the historic moments that happen when a team wears that outfit. Rangers are not shy of successful moments in their history for their fans to reminisce, and therefore they have many kits that bring great memories.
Throughout history, Rangers have had almost every major kit manufacturer there is. Admiral, Adidas, Nike, Umbro, Puma and Diadora. This means there is a wide variety of styles for The Famous Headwear to work with.
The Famous Headwear also attribute these designs to great players. Ray Wilkins became synonymous with the famous chequered design of the 1988-89 season when he rifled in a volley in a 5-1 win against Celtic. This season was also the first of Rangers 9 In A Row. The Famous converted this design into bobble hat form and attributed it to the great man.
New Bobble Hats for Winter 2021 - 22
Here at The North Section, we do our own bobble hats and have recently started to release our new ones for Winter 2021.
Starting of locally with the release of a Retro style Dundee United Hat which we have put on pre-order. The design used a vintage logo, and comes with stickers inspired the the Arabs League in in 1983.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed the guide. To be honest, this is a mere summary as all these brands have lots of designs to pick from. We’d recommend you consider all of these (or maybe 4/5 if you’re not a Rangers fan)
Of course, we sell our own bobble hats during the winter, so we’d hope you come back to the website and check them out when they are released. We have been fortunate to be supported by those who have bought them. We focus mainly on famous trophy wins and create patterns that resemble that cup with the year. Notable sell outs have been the Dundee United 1983 & Scottish Cup hats along with Rangers Cup Winners Cup in 1972 and we thank all those who have purchased them.
If you think your club should have a bobble hat designed for them comment below and we will review the suggestion.