Run by one person. That person is Riz.

I'm Riz. I'm in Birmingham, and I run Kicks & Kits on my own.

Before this I worked security. Long hours, day in and day out, whatever it took to keep things going for my family. That kind of work stays with you. You learn what money is actually worth when you've stood there earning it an hour at a time.

So I know what it's like when there isn't much left at the end of the month. And I know that a football shirt is one of the first things to go, because it looks like a luxury — even though to a lot of us it really isn't. It's what you wear to the pub on a Saturday. It's what you put on for five-a-side. It's the thing that makes you feel part of something bigger than a bad week at work. Watching people give that up never sat right with me.

That's who this shop is for. Anyone who loves their club and shouldn't have to think twice about showing it.

The other reason it exists is that I've been burned as a customer myself. I know how it feels to hand your money over to a website and get nothing back worth having, with nobody on the other end to talk to about it. Nobody buying from me is going to feel that. That's a promise, and it's the whole reason I bothered building this properly.

So every shirt on here is shown front and back, exactly as it comes, so you know what's turning up. If something's going to take 8–14 days I'll tell you that up front instead of taking your money and going quiet. And the WhatsApp number on this site is my actual phone — if something goes wrong, you're talking to the person who can put it right, not a contact form.

I'm building this for my family, same as the security work was. The difference is this one is mine — so I get to decide how people are treated on the way through. Look after the customer, keep it affordable for normal people, and be straight with them when something isn't right. That's the whole plan.

Wear your colours. Represent your club. Love the game.