With the contract from their current kit manufacturer Under Armour running out, St Pauli set out on a search for a replacement provider with three principles in mind. Any new supplier had to convince the club of their credentials in the following areas: sustainability, transparency and Fair Trade. Quite simply they couldn’t find anyone who could satisfy their demands so will consequently be manufacturing the kits themselves. St Pauli, based in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn area, has long prided itself on doing things differently from other clubs. It is avowedly left wing, truly representative of its working class neighbourhood, and explicitly repudiated to any racism or extreme right wing views in football, long before such sentiments were in the mainstream. “This uniqueness and constant desire to find new ways of doing things has always been a trademark of St Pauli. With our own Teamsport Collection we are again following our own independent path.” said club president Oke Gottlich. The kit will be called DIIY (Do It Improve Yourself), rather English in origin, but Gotttlich added “That‘s St Pauli, why imitate when you can do it better yourself.” The club is hoping to get its kit ready for May 2021, with advance orders being taken from next month. With its emphasis on sustainability, they hope that they will be able to supply other clubs as existing deals with manufacturers expire.