When it comes to football kits, the battle to stay relevant as a brand is as tight as any title race. Whilst the legacy giants of Nike and adidas duel at the top of the pyramid, landing blow after blow in what has felt like an eternal struggle, the competition just below the swoosh and the stripes is an unforgiving one.
For many years Puma held a solid claim for a seat at the top table but their recent form suggests that they are on the outside looking in, at least for now. Conversely the arrow for Macron, who only began working in pro football in 2001, is pointed firmly the other way with a growing market share and a burgeoning reputation.
Classic names like Kappa and hummel boast plenty of fans, but their presence in the modern game is anything but a guarantee with a host of names nipping at their heels for contracts.
Existing somewhere amongst this throng are Umbro. After a relatively quiet period in the early 2010s Umbro returned to form, emerging as a strong player in the second tier of shirt manufacturers from the late 2010s onwards. But despite their recovery, they have struggled to separate from the pack in any meaningful way when it comes to pro kits over the past several years.
Step outside the stadium however and the picture is remarkably different. When it comes to streetwear Umbro aren’t part of the chasing pack, they are leaving their rival brands in the dust, even the Nike’s and adidas’ of the world. Umbro are seemingly on a mission to conquer the lifestyle game, and few are as well positioned as they are to step forward as a leading figure in the tantalising overlap that exists between sport and culture.
In this exciting space we’ve seen Umbro collaborating with brands and fashion labels like Slam Jam, Carnival and Butter over the past few months. Last September a capsule with Boiler Room was particularly successful. This energy has been brought into some of the more football-adjacent lifestyle projects too.
You might have recently noticed a set of stunning Republic of Ireland shirts from Umbro, only to then realise that Ireland aren’t even sponsored by Umbro in the first place. But the quality of the creative and the level of effort that Umbro went into promoting the campaign puts many official kit launches to shame (and the shirts themselves are seriously lovely).
To help dig deep into Umbro and their increasing significance off the pitch, I spoke with leading Umbro commentator Alex Ireland. Alex is the author of two excellent books, Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt and Double Diamond: 100 Years of Umbro. As one of my go-to’s for all things Umbro, I wanted to pick his brains particularly on what has made Umbro who they are.
We started by getting a bit of background on Alex’s connection to the brand, as well as exploring some of the key touchpoints in Umbro’s storied history in football.
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Q: Umbro recently celebrated their 100th anniversary. Could you talk a little bit about your relationship with the brand, and how you got involved with them during the anniversary year?
Alex: Through the course of writing my first book Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt, Umbro kept cropping up along with their foundation date in 1924. I thought that as their 2024 centenary was coming up it would be nice to mark this by telling the company's amazing history. I approached Umbro in early 2023 about supporting the project, and they provided access to their archives and contacts to former employees for interview.
Q: In your opinion, when was the brand’s heyday in football? What was it that made Umbro so strong in that period?
Alex: There were a couple of key periods - in the mid 1960s Umbro had built upon their domestic dominance to supply some of the leading nations and international club teams. Real Madrid, Celtic and Manchester United won consecutive European Cups in Umbro from 1966-68, whilst between seven and fifteen nations wore Umbro at the 1966 World Cup. This was thanks to the Umbro managing director John Humphreys, son of founder Harold, who made a concerted effort to increase the company's international profile. This included visiting each of the sixteen nations that had qualified for the 1966 World Cup in order to make agreements to supply them.
"Umbro was founded in a pub in Mobberley, a village a few miles outside of Manchester and has always retained a base in or around the city including its current head office in the Northern Quarter."
Q: What sort of a role did Umbro play in shaping UK culture, particularly throughout the 90s?
Alex: As the dominant domestic manufacturer, supplying half of the 22 sides in the inaugural Premier League season, they played a key role in making football kits an acceptable leisurewear choice. This included purposefully designing kits such as the grey 1996 England away kit to be worn with jeans. They had earlier invented the replica football shirt in the mid 1950s, creating what would become a multi-billion pound industry.
"Newton Heath shirt where Sir Alex and the team were dressed in the kit and Victorian clothing, haircuts, etc. I think it was the first time we'd seen that much care and attention for a football shirt launch."
We then started to join the dots as to why Umbro are so popular with many people on the streetwear side, despite not having a dominant market share at the top of the football pyramid.
Q: Umbro seem to have a deep connection with many people despite not being one the ‘biggest’ brands in football at the moment. Why do you think that is?
Alex: I think because their UK and Irish dominance means that the vast majority of us have memories of a time when our national or club sides were in Umbro. All four home nations and Ireland have worn Umbro for extended periods of time, whilst Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, Chelsea, etc. have all won major trophies whilst sporting the double diamond. In total, English and Scottish sides have won over 200 major titles in Umbro kit.
Q: Who have been some key collaborators with Umbro from a streetwear/lifestyle perspective, be it clubs, players, celebrities or other brands?
Alex: My focus is on the football kit side, so I probably know less about this than others. However, Umbro were one of the first sports brands to collaborate with fashion brands, beginning with a 2002 collection with Paul Smith, and particularly with up-and-coming designers such as Aitor Throup who was a key part of the 'Tailored by Umbro' range and Kim Jones who launched a collection with Umbro in 2005.
More recently, I think the collaborations with Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green brand was a great fit between the two. Liam had featured in a couple of iconic photos in Umbro - he and brother Noel in City's Brother-sponsored home and away shirts, and in an Umbro drill top during a gig at City's former Maine Road ground.
"When it comes to advertising, few can match Umbro’s chops. The potent combination of heritage and contemporary relevance has produced the perfect conditions for Umbro to tap into nostalgia in meaningful ways, and people are picking up on it."
Another key aspect which people have been pining for has been old school advertising. In the age of adaptive, A.I.-driven marketing campaigns which, though clever in their own way, are often devoid of a sense of character, the billboards of old are by comparison a far more evocative medium. I asked Alex about Umbro’s pedigree in this department.
Q: Have there been any historical Umbro ad campaigns which have particularly resonated with you?
Alex: Three stand out.
The first is Umbro signing up the 16 World Cup nations for 1966. Even if - as newer evidence suggests - a much smaller number actually wore the kit, this idea made for a great marketing concept.
Secondly, for the Newton Heath shirt where Sir Alex and the team were dressed in the kit and Victorian clothing, haircuts, etc. I think it was the first time we'd seen that much care and attention for a football shirt launch and it set a precedent for broader concepts in shirt design.
The third builds on that with the 'Tailored by Umbro' concept, where Umbro employed a Saville Row tailor in the design team, gave players tailor-made garments, listed shirts in chest sizes rather than small, medium, large, etc. There was a pop-up store, limited edition merchandise, etc. I think the repositioning of what felt like quite a cheap, functional polyester garment in the early 2000s as a high-quality item was a key point in changing public attitudes to football shirts particularly outside of traditional football fan bases.
When it comes to advertising, few can match Umbro’s chops. The potent combination of heritage and contemporary relevance has produced the perfect conditions for Umbro to tap into nostalgia in meaningful ways, and people are picking up on it.
As I wrapped up my chat with Alex I wanted to ask about the brand’s connection to Manchester, something which was explored in a recent campaign centre around the Northern Quarter.
Q: One theme which has emerged in recent collections has been Umbro’s ties to Manchester. What exactly is the link between the two?
Alex: Umbro was founded in a pub in Mobberley, a village a few miles outside of Manchester and has always retained a base in or around the city including its current head office in the Northern Quarter. It has also had a strong connection with the city's two clubs. Umbro first appeared on the footballing scene by clothing Manchester City (and their fellow finalists Portsmouth) in the 1934 FA Cup Final, and continued to supply them until 1997. Similarly, they kitted out Manchester United since at least the mid 1930s including their 1968 European Cup winning team, the side which won United's first title in 26 years in 1993, and the Champions League winning team in 1999.
Another piece of the puzzle has been Umbro’s global strategy. No successful brand is a monolith, and Umbro’s regional divisions across the world seem to be having more fun than most.
In South America the double diamonds have long held a reputation for creating some of the better kits in the region. Elsewhere in Korea, you might have seen a recent collaboration with Logitech which saw the tech company and Umbro Korea produce a frankly incredible mechanical keyboard. These sorts of regional distinctions exist with the other big names, but there seems to be an extra degree of freedom with the way Umbro are approaching things.
If I could have my way, I’d have Umbro snapping up more big contracts and making more kits at the top of the game. The reality is though that football in 2025 is different to what it was like in 1995. The ‘smaller’ brands are having to cough up far more than is feasible just to get a look in. Gobble up too many deals and you risk stretching yourself too thin (not naming any names). And that’s ok for Umbro. They’re not looking to make the big 2 or 3 a big 3 or 4. They’re doing just fine, and streetwear is their vehicle of choice as they journey into the future.
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Huge thanks to Alex for chatting to us. We would highly recommend both of his aforementioned books, which you can pick up at the following links:
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