Which Sport Will I Get in a Wildcard Box?
You will get one of four sports in a Wildcard Box: football, rugby, Gaelic or basketball. We choose which one, and you find out when you open the box. You pick the size, and that is the only choice you make. We never promise a particular sport, club or country, but two rules shape the pick: you never get the same sport twice in one order, and you never get the same sport back to back if you order again.
If you already know you want the surprise, the Wildcard Box page has the sizes. If you want to know what each of the four outcomes looks like before you commit, this guide walks through them one at a time.
The honest answer: we pick, and we do not tell you
The whole idea of the Wildcard Box is that the sport is part of the mystery. With a single-sport box, you know the category and the surprise is the team. Here, the category is a surprise too. That is why the name fits: it is a wildcard in the plainest sense.
So when someone asks "which sport will I get?", there is no trick answer and no hidden setting to change. It will be one of these four:
- Football, as a football shirt.
- Rugby, as a rugby shirt.
- Gaelic, as a Gaelic jersey.
- Basketball, as a basketball jersey.
There are no team filters on this box either, so you cannot rule out a club you dislike or ask for one you love. If the shirt misses the mark, the exchange is free. For the full walk-through of the box itself, see our guide to how the multi-sport mystery shirt box works.
The two rules that shape which sport you get
We choose the sport, but not with a blindfold on. Two rules sit behind every pick, and both are there to keep things varied for you.
- Never the same sport twice in one order. Order two Wildcard Boxes at once and you will open two different sports. Order three and you will open three different sports.
- Never the same sport back to back. If you come back and order again later, you will not get the sport you had last time. A Gaelic jersey this time means football, rugby or basketball when you next order.
That second rule matters if you like the idea of building a mixed collection. You will not end up with a drawer full of one sport by accident.
What the rules do not do is let you steer. You cannot tell us which sport you had last time and ask for a particular one instead. The rules only remove repeats; the choice of what comes next is still ours.
If it is a mystery football shirt
For most people in the UK, football is the familiar outcome. It is the sport most of us grew up around, so a mystery football shirt is the one that needs the least explaining. The surprise is the club or country, and with no team filters it could be a side you have never watched.
That is where a lot of the fun lives. A shirt from a club you know nothing about is a nudge to look up its story, find out where it plays and maybe catch a match. If football is the only sport you want, though, the Wildcard Box is not the best route. Our mystery football shirt keeps the surprise to the team and leaves the sport fixed.
If it is a mystery rugby shirt
A mystery rugby shirt is a good one to land if you follow football and fancy something a little different. The shirt has a character of its own, and it is an easy one to pull on for a Saturday afternoon in front of the telly.
If the number on the back puzzles you, here is the short version. In fifteen-a-side rugby union, each team has eight forwards and seven backs, and the positions follow the shirt numbers, with forwards wearing 1 to 8 and backs wearing 9 to 15 (sources: World Rugby's beginner's guide and Wikipedia). Our explainer on rugby shirt numbers and positions goes through what each one does.
Want a rugby shirt for certain rather than as one of four possibilities? The rugby union mystery shirt is the single-sport option.
If it is a mystery Gaelic jersey
A mystery Gaelic jersey may well be the biggest surprise of the four if you live in Britain rather than Ireland, and that is a good thing. Gaelic games have a long history: the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded on 1 November 1884 at Hayes' Hotel in Thurles, County Tipperary (sources: Croke Park and Wikipedia).
Part of the appeal is how closely a county jersey is tied to a place. If one lands in your box and you want to know what the colours mean, our guide to GAA county jerseys is the place to start, and our explainer on county colours goes a step further.
If you already follow Gaelic games and want a jersey every time, the mystery Gaelic football jersey is the single-sport option.
If it is a mystery basketball jersey
A mystery basketball jersey can feel like the wildest card of the four if your weekends revolve around football and rugby. That is exactly why it is worth having in the mix, and it is an easy thing to wear casually whether or not you have ever watched a game from start to finish.
The game itself is younger than you might think. James Naismith introduced the first game of basketball to his class in December 1891 at the YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts (sources: the Lemelson Center at MIT and Wikipedia). A basketball jersey in your box is a good excuse to stay up for a game and see what the fuss is about.
What stays the same whichever sport you get
The sport changes from box to box. Plenty does not, and it helps to know which is which.
| Fixed in every box | What it means |
|---|---|
| Authentic and officially licensed | Every shirt is 100% authentic and officially licensed, whatever the sport. |
| Tags on | It arrives with its tags, ready to wear or to wrap. |
| A proper shirt | Never a pre-match or training shirt. |
| Your size | You choose the size, so the fit is your call. |
| Free exchange | If it misses the mark, swapping it is free. |
| One box, one payment | No subscription and nothing to cancel. |
If you are weighing up whether a mystery box is a sensible buy at all, our guide to whether mystery shirt boxes are legit covers what to check before you order from anyone.
Can I choose or rule out a sport?
No. That is the trade you make for the surprise. The Wildcard Box has no sport selector and no team filters, and we do not take requests in the order notes. The two rules above are the only things that shape the pick.
That is not a problem if you want certainty, because each sport has its own single-sport route:
- Football only: the mystery football shirt.
- Rugby only: the rugby union mystery shirt.
- Gaelic only: the mystery Gaelic football jersey.
A simple way to decide: if you would be disappointed by any of the four sports, pick a single-sport box. If you would be happy, or at least curious, whichever one turns up, the Wildcard Box is the more fun buy.
Making a guessing game of it
Because the sport is a secret until the lid comes off, the Wildcard Box works well as a shared moment. A few ideas:
- Call it before you open it. Everyone in the room picks one of the four sports. Whoever is right gets bragging rights.
- Give it as a gift. If you know someone's size but not which sport they would rank first, let the box decide. Our beginner's guide to gifting a mystery box covers the practical side.
- Learn the shirt. Whatever lands, spend ten minutes finding out who wears it and why the colours are what they are. It makes the shirt mean a lot more.
FAQs
Which sports can be in a Wildcard Box?
On the UK store, the Wildcard Box can contain a football shirt, a rugby shirt, a Gaelic jersey or a basketball jersey. We pick which one, and you find out when you open it.
Can I get the same sport twice?
Not in the same order: every box in one order is a different sport. And if you order again later, you will not get the same sport as last time.
Can I request a sport or a team?
No. There is no sport choice and there are no team filters on this box. If you want one sport for certain, choose a single-sport mystery box instead.
What happens if I do not like the sport I get?
If the shirt misses the mark, the exchange is free. Check the product page for how to arrange it.
Is the Wildcard Box a subscription?
No. It is one box and one payment, with nothing recurring and nothing to cancel.