England Say Farewell To Umbro
Tonight's match against Brazil at Wembley marks the last time England will wear an Umbro shirt - for the foreseeable future at least.
The confirmation that the Nike kit contract will commence after this evening's game came via Umbro's Facebook page, by way of a tribute to fifty years of double diamonded shirts - allowing for an Admiral-designed intermission in the late 70s/early 80s - and a cheeky reference to Nike's "Just Do It" slogan.
The new England kit, complete with Swoosh, will apparently be unveiled in the 22nd March away clash against San Marino in Brazil 2014 qualifying - a fixture most famous for featuring the quickest goal in a World Cup match, conceded by England thanks to an underweighted Stuart Pearce backpass in 1993. Despite the less-than-glittering history of the matchup, the new design is likely to have a winning start.
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Rumours that Nike would take over immediately prior to one of the prestige fixtures organised to celebrate The FA's 150th anniversary now seem unfounded, though there is still the possibility that a one-off commemorative kit will appear in the official celebratory match against Auld Enemy, Scotland on 14th August.
For Umbro, in transition after their sale by Nike to Iconix, tonight will be a sad occasion. But whatever their future holds, they will always be remembered fondly through the kits that adorned the English national team in its finest hours.
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Comments
Nike's best designs were in the mid-90s when they made shirts like the old BVB and Arsenal shirts. I'm sick of seeing the presentation photos of EVERY SHIRT with the heat-seams and air-holes over the ribs. Nike have made a mistake in ending Umbro, it has much more heritage than they ever will.
I am actually looking forward to a change.I feel that the last 3 home shirts have been little better than bland,i prefer a shirt to be a little more striking and,one that in years time will be a sought after iconic shirt,the recent ones haven't(a bit like the team tbh).
Nike's purchase of Umbro a few years ago was exactly what caused the resurgence of the brand as a creative force.
What makes you think that Nike will be incapable of continuing that kind of classy shirts?
Have you seen the leaked US centenary kit? Put the Three Lions on instead of the Stars and Stripes and you would have a perfectly acceptable England shirt.
The fact is now Nike will bring in the plastic crew neck tee shirts that we see in Holland Portugal united arsenal and celtic, the only plus that can be taken from it being Nike and not adidas is that we won't have to put up with the dominance of the 3 stripes on our kits.
nike swoosh is practically a status symbol.. the the kids in school want it.. all the pros have it, in turn the kids want it.. nike sponsors some of the biggest atheletes in the sport. nike is only going to grow more and more into the sport...
well, life goes on... still...
They probably will have England playing in tartan like Man Poo
Those amateur 5 a-side you talk about don't deserve to wear even Teamware
Agree, Nike have cherry-picked England and Man City, and sold a toothless tiger. It could be the end of Umbro. Who remembers Admiral and Bukta.
True, Southend United, York City, Scensoredhorpe United, Fleetwood Town and Hartlepool or wear Nike.
That is so funny - you can't even put in a proper football teams name with out it being censored. Classic!!
from Gazza sliding in and missing by a few inches in the last minute against Germany Euro 96 to Beckham free kick against Greece to The World Cup in 66...
Well done Umbro a good innings despite the critics and the usual sigh when we see another Red kit or a slightly bland Home kit we can all say thank you, gone but not forgotten.....
here here to the famous Diamond..
Yeah - really bad memories.....Umbro was an awful company to work for.......All the hype about being a great company.....looking after their staff.....nice atmosphere....etc etc........I HATED EVERY MINUTE !!!!.......what a bunch of ****'s. The only great thing about Umbro........the canteen & Gym..................NOTHING ELSE......horrible backstabbing staff......along with false team members - It was heaven when I left !!!!!.........I hope they ALL ROT !!!
Pride, class and the will to reemerge.
You are right Umbro... It' s just FOR NOW.
Thanks for all the quality and passion you have offered and will keep on offering in the future.
See you still on many football pitches around the world.
(Thanks Uncle Rich, witness like yours is always welcome to remind people of what the swoosh stands for)
Get over it, like you said.
It's behind baseball, college football and,NFL
Why should England get special treatment ??
Contract will be ended and than nike takes over.
what a shame!
BUT...if England just so happen make the WC 2014 semi finals...or dare I say even the final???....then I think people won't mind the Nike swoosh on potentially a boring classless shirt.
And just an example....I'm sure Chelsea fans forgot how ugly their kits were last season when they won the Champions League. (I know this is an Adidas example but you get my point!)
Nike kits IMO are boring.and uninspiring. At least with Umbro there was something unique about the kit.