Villarreal gave colour to their kit as they conquered new heights in their 100-year history

From the time of its foundation, from 1923 onwards, CD Villarreal wore white shirts and black shorts. These were the colours with which they achieved their first regional successes and which were later adopted by CA Foghetecaz, in their ambition to succeed Calduch and the other pioneers of football in the city.

It was not until the late 1940s that a quirk of fate and the absence of white shirts in a shop in Valencia led to the definitive and accidental change to yellow. This colourful change pleased the fans and gave a unique identity to the club, which later received the nickname ‘Submarino Amarillo’ (Yellow Submarine), a nickname that would remain to this day.

For a decade, Villarreal players wore a yellow shirt and black shorts, which gave way to blue shorts in March 1956. It was in this traditional outfit, which is mentioned in the official Villarreal CF hymn, which says “Els nostres colours són el blau i el groc” (“Our colours are blue and yellow”), that the club achieved its first promotions to the national tiers of Spanish football and then, on the threshold of the 21st century, made the unimaginable leap to the First Division.

Yellow and blue accompanied the Submarine for almost five decades. It was from the 2004/05 season onwards that Villarreal switched to playing entirely in yellow. With this new look, the team presided over by Fernando Roig achieved the first qualification to the UEFA Champions League and began a successful cycle in European competitions that continues to this day.

You can find out more about Villarreal CF’s journey from black and white to yellow in Chapter 8 of Centenary Memories: