Saudi Club Al-Ittihad Copies AIK Kit & Uses Unlicensed Font in 97th Anniversary Shirt

1 day ago

by Chris

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Kit Design Theft: Al-Ittihad's 97th-anniversary kit is a direct copy of AIK's 2019 design, including the typeface.
Font License Violation: Al-Ittihad used the 'AIK ErikHolm' font, created by Erik Holm, for commercial purposes without obtaining the necessary license.
Lack of Communication: Al-Ittihad did not contact Erik Holm for permission or licensing before using his font on their anniversary shirt, despite being a club majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Al-Ittihad’s recently unveiled 97th anniversary kit heavily borrows from AIK’s 2019 design, right down to the typeface.

Al-Ittihad not only released one but a set of three differently colored anniversary kits.

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Erik Holm, a Swedish designer and former Head of Social Media at AIK, took to LinkedIn to call out the Saudi Pro League club for using his custom-designed font “AIK ErikHolm” without permission. The font, created over a decade ago as a passion project, has been central to AIK’s acclaimed kit aesthetics in recent years and is downloadable for free personal use on DaFont, with clear terms stating that commercial use requires a license.

Holm says Al-Ittihad lifted the font directly to display the number “1927” on the chest of their anniversary shirt — a design detail that mirrors AIK’s 2019 release both in styling and spirit. “They didn’t contact me. No email. No message. No license,” Holm wrote. “Just… took it. And started selling thousands and thousands of shirts with it.”

The color scheme, styling, and presentation are practically identical to AIK’s famous kits.

The controversy is further magnified by Al-Ittihad’s backing: the club is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also owns Newcastle United and other Saudi clubs. Holm didn’t hold back, referring to the situation as the “world’s richest family stealing a hobby project.”