Honouring a Rugby League ICON with Purposeful Design
In the world of professional sports, few players leave a legacy as deep and enduring as Josh Charnley. Known for his prolific try-scoring ability, work ethic, and impact across multiple clubs, Josh’s testimonial year in 2024 was more than a celebration of longevity—it was a tribute to character, community, and contribution. Central to that celebration was the production of the Josh Charnley Testimonial Supporters Shirt—a unique, limited-edition piece of supporter merchandise that fused heritage, personal story, and charitable purpose.
Let’s revisit how this remarkable shirt came to life—from concept to consumer. This isn’t just a story of rugby league apparel. It’s a case study in storytelling through design, engaging supporters, and using merchandise to deepen fan relationships while supporting good causes.
Understanding the Brief: Celebrating Josh’s Journey
The goal was simple yet nuanced: design a supporter’s shirt that commemorated Josh Charnley’s testimonial year in 2024 while celebrating his career, supporting his chosen charities, and resonating deeply with fans across the rugby league community.
Josh’s playing career spanned some of the sport’s most historic clubs, including:
•    Wigan Warriors
•    Warrington Wolves
•    England
•    Leigh Leopards
Our design had to reflect the appearance numbers for each of these clubs—a subtle but powerful way of quantifying his contribution. Fans resonate with stats. Whether it’s tries scored or matches played, numbers tell a story.
In addition, the shirt would incorporate symbols of Josh’s two favourite charities: Joining Jack (link: https://joiningjack.org/) and Derian House (link: https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/). These weren’t just add-ons—they were fundamental to the message. Supporter shirts are often worn with pride, but when they also raise awareness and funds for great causes, that pride deepens into purpose.
The Design Process: From Concept to Creation
1. Initial Design Workshops: The Power of Collaboration
The first step was an ideation workshop with Josh and our in-house creative team.
In these sessions, we aimed to answer:
•    What elements of Josh’s career are most emotionally resonant with fans?
•    How can we visualise his club legacy without overwhelming the design?
•    How can we respectfully represent the charities without commercialising their mission?
The outcome was a clear creative direction: a heritage-driven design grounded in clean, modern aesthetics.
2. Balancing Club Identity and Personal Milestones
Each club badge could not simply be copied and pasted more importantly; we needed a design that unified these disparate identities. A fragmented collage would do no justice to Josh’s unified journey.
We explored a watermarked silhouette technique—subtle outlines of each badge layered beneath the main shirt graphics. We added the corresponding appearance number in small, tonal type on the nape, a subtle nod to Josh’s career.
This approach allowed us to integrate multiple identities into one narrative shirt—appealing to fans of each club while staying true to the overall theme.
3. Incorporating Charity Logos with Subtlety and Respect
Rather than plaster logos across the front or sleeves, we decided to embroider small, symbolic icons of the two charities on the inner hem and sleeve cuff. This placement allowed wearers to feel part of something bigger—visible enough to matter, discreet enough to be tasteful whilst creating a dual incentive for supporters: commemorate Josh’s career and give back.
4. Colour and Fabric Selection: From Fan Feedback to Functionality
To refine our colour palette, Josh chose a sleeker black and silver, grey variant symbolising longevity and excellence.
Looking back, not only did this resonate emotionally, but it aligned with the premium positioning we aimed to give this one-time-only item.
Fabric choice mattered too. This wasn’t just a souvenir; fans would wear it to games, gyms, and pubs. We chose a lightweight sublimated blend with Performance, comfort, and durability—three non-negotiables.
Driving Visibility and Sales
It’s not enough to design a great shirt. We had to ensure fans found it—across search, social, and supporter networks.
Keyword Targeting:
We targeted a blend of long-tail and branded keywords, including:
•    “Josh Charnley testimonial shirt 2024”
•    “rugby league supporter merchandise”
•    “charity rugby shirt UK”
•    “testimonial gear”
•    “limited edition Josh Charnley jersey”
We also created content around these themes:
•    Social Media posts telling the story of the design process (like this one)
•    Behind-the-scenes videos with Josh in the design room
•    Testimonial Spotlight Updates explaining where proceeds go
We optimised product page metadata, structured data, and imagery for Shopping. The result: a 47% increase in organic traffic to the testimonial merchandise page within the first two weeks of launch.
Manufacturing & Logistics: Aligning Production with Purpose
Manufacturing was handled by our team to maintain quality control and reduce lead times whilst ensuring we meet our ethical sourcing standards.
Reception & Impact: Community-Driven Success
From the first social teaser to the last shirt shipped, the project was a triumph of collaboration between player, fan, and cause.
We also saw a ripple effect in other testimonial merchandise interest, with fans from multiple clubs and backgrounds reconnecting with Josh’s journey through the other testimonial items.
Most importantly, feedback was overwhelmingly positive:
“One of the most meaningful pieces of merch I’ve ever owned. It tells a story, not just sells a brand.”
— Leigh Leopards fan comment on Instagram
Lessons Learned & Final Thoughts
Designing merchandise for a testimonial year is always a special task—but Josh Charnley’s shirt stood out because it was grounded in authentic storytelling and driven by a genuine desire to give back.
If you’re a club, athlete, or charity looking to create meaningful supporter merchandise, consider these takeaways:
•    Involve the player and charities from day one. Authenticity can't be retrofitted.
•    Design for story, not just style. Every element should say something.
•    Use data to guide choices. Let fans shape the outcome.
•    Think beyond the sale. Focus on legacy, charity, and long-term fan connection.
The 2024 Josh Charnley Testimonial Shirt wasn’t just a product. It was a platform—for celebration, for giving, and for connecting rugby league fans across generations and geographies.
And that, ultimately, is what great marketing should do.
Keywords included for SEO optimization: testimonial year shirt, Josh Charnley, rugby league merchandise, rugby supporter shirt, charity sportswear, limited edition rugby shirt, rugby league testimonial 2024, Josh Charnley jersey, rugby fan gear UK, rugby charity shirt.