Football Finds x Peter and His Football Shirts
Welcome back to The Football Finds Blog. Today, we’re featuring Peter, known online as Peterandhisfootballshirts on Instagram and Peterandhisfootballshirt on TikTok . A lifelong Ajax supporter with a deeply personal approach to collecting, Peter’s collection is driven by connection, memory, and meaning. For him, football shirts aren’t about hype or aesthetics alone. They’re about stories, history, and emotion.
Like many collectors, Peter’s journey began at a young age. His very first football shirt was the Ajax home shirt from the 1993/1994 season, a gift he received for his 9th birthday. More than three decades later from the shirts manufacture, he still owns it. That shirt remains one of the most special pieces in his collection, not because of its value, but because it marks the beginning of a lifelong relationship with football shirts and with Ajax.
Peter has been an Ajax fan since childhood, and that loyalty naturally shapes his collection. Most of his shirts feature Ajax in one way or another, but his interests don’t stop there. His wife is from Peru, which has inspired him to collect a wide range of Peru national team shirts, adding another layer of personal connection to his collection. He’s also a devoted admirer of Mario Balotelli, his self-described cult hero, which explains why several Balotelli shirts proudly sit among his favourites.
Ask Peter about his favourite shirt and the answer comes with a story. His standout piece is the Ajax 1993/1994 dark blue and green away shirt. It’s a shirt he had been searching for over a long period, but every example he found was either incomplete or prohibitively expensive, often missing the iconic laces. Last year, after years of searching, he finally found one in perfect condition with the original laces intact. Adding it to his collection felt like completing a chapter he’d been writing for years.
For Peter, a “good” football shirt isn’t defined by how it looks on a hanger. What matters most is the story it carries. A shirt worn by an Ajax player during a crucial goal, or one tied to a historic moment, holds far more value than a shirt that simply looks nice. Even if the design is plain or unconventional, history can turn it into something special. For him, football shirts are tangible pieces of the past.
Every collector has a grail, and Peter’s ultimate one is clear: the Netherlands national team shirt from Euro 1988. As a someone who was born in the Netherlands, this shirt represents the pinnacle of footballing history. While he admits it may not be the most beautiful design ever produced, its legacy makes it legendary. The challenge, of course, is that everyone knows its importance. Finding one would almost certainly come with a hefty price tag, but that only adds to its mythical status.
When it comes to advice, Peter keeps it refreshingly simple. Buy the shirts you genuinely like. Collecting isn’t a competition, and it’s not about numbers. His biggest piece of advice is never to throw a football shirt away. He’s heard countless stories of people who regret doing so years later, and those regrets often hurt more than the space the shirt once took up.
Peter’s collection is a reminder of what football shirt collecting is really about. Not chasing trends, not flexing value, but holding onto moments, memories, and meaning. From a childhood Ajax shirt to a dream Netherlands grail, his journey reflects the heart of Football Finds: collecting for love, connection, and the stories stitched into every shirt.