Inside the booming kit launch business: It used to be a single photo… now it’s Ozzy Osbourne, Zidane, Vieira, 60-strong production teams and six-figure fees [Video]

17:30 EDT 18 Aug 2024, updated 20:32 EDT 18 Aug 2024

Ozzy Osbourne holds his phone close to his ear and waits for the answer. ‘Hey Geezer!’ he shouts. ‘Let’s play Villa Park!’. ‘As long as I play left wing,’ replies Geezer.

Not a promotional video for a Black Sabbath homecoming gig, but the launch of Aston Villa’s home shirt for the 2024-25 season. With 1970 hit Paranoid providing a backing track, Geezer — real name Terry Butler and the band’s bassist — shows up in the home dressing room and asks if he should play through the middle or on the left. Emi Martinez reacts with a double take of which George Clooney would be proud.

For the unveiling of their away kit on August 16, Villa played their next trick: Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, officially opening the new club shop. In a short video, she brandishes a pair of blue adidas football boots and bellows ‘I’ve found his Preds!’

Meanwhile …