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Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby union sportswear featuring their Double Diamond logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 countries including Umbro AU, UK, and more. Umbro at Iconix Brand website. . Retrieved 11 February 2013
The business was started by brothers Harold and Wallace Humphreys. The name is a portmanteau of um, from Humphreys, and bro from brothers.
Since 2012, the marque is a subsidiary of American brand management company Iconix Brand Group.
In 1952, the British team at the Summer Olympics wore Umbro kits, tailored for the needs of their individual sports. Umbro would supply kits for the British Olympics team for the next 20 years.
In 1955, Umbro introduced their first replica football kit, the 'Sportswear Xmas Pack'. The kit, designed for young boys, included a matching shirt, shorts, and socks.
In 1957, Umbro entered the tennis market, producing sports clothing in collaboration with player Ted Tinling. This collaboration extended for three decades. Another sportsman who collaborated with Umbro was Manchester United manager Matt Busby, in 1959.
Brazil became the first FIFA World Cup champion to wear kits by Umbro in 1958. Two years later, Manchester United Scotland player Denis Law signed an exclusive agreement with the brand, becoming the first footballer to be sponsored by Umbro. The England national team won its only title in 1966 wearing kits by Umbro (the deal had been signed in 1954). Of the 16 teams that competed, 15 wore kit manufactured by Umbro, Umbro history website , retrieved 27 March 2013 the only exception being the USSR. By the late 1960s, 85% of British football teams wore kits manufactured by the company, including Glasgow Celtic, the first British team to win a European Cup in 1967. Liverpool FC won the first four of their six European Cups while wearing Umbro kits, in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984.
After more than a decade wearing Admiral kits, the England national team signed with Umbro again in 1984. In 1986, Umbro began to manufacture its own . The company added footballers Alan Shearer and Michael Owen to its list of sponsored athletes. In 1994, Brazil won its fourth FIFA World Cup title in the United States and club teams AFC Ajax (in 1995), and Manchester United (in 1999) obtained the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, in Tokyo, all of them wearing Umbro kits.
Umbro was the official sports manufacturer of the English FA Cup and official sponsor of The FA, being the exclusive supplier of balls to the body's leagues.
In the United States, Umbro was the majority owner (94%) of United Soccer Leagues, the parent organisation for North America's lower division men's soccer (tiers two through four in the American Soccer Pyramid), and the second tier women's league (W-League) and youth league (Super Y-League). During the 2009 USL First Division season, the Carolina RailHawks, Charleston Battery, Vancouver Whitecaps, Rochester Rhinos, Austin Aztex, and Puerto Rico Islanders all wore Umbro kits. During the 2012 USLPro season, the Dayton Dutch Lions wore Umbro.
In October 2007, JJB Sports bought a 10.1% stake in Umbro in a move to protect its stake in the market for England football shirts.
In 2010, Umbro became sponsor of reformed American team New York Cosmos to be its exclusive kit supplier. "Umbro sign deal with New York Cosmos", SportsPro , 1 October 2010
In May 2012, Nike reported that it would be selling Umbro (along with Cole Haan) to focus on their sports brands, including Nike, Converse, Hurley and Air Jordan. "Nike selles Cole Haan and Umbro", HighSnobiety website, 31 May 2012 In September 2012, The FA announced that future England kits would be manufactured by Nike. "England announce five-year kit deal with Nike", Goal.com , 3 September 2012
In February 2014, it was announced that Umbro would supply Everton from the start of the 2014–15 football season. "Boss Unveils New Umbro Partnership", Everton FC , 4 February 2014 This was the first new club announcement since Iconix Brand Group bought Umbro, and was followed by the announcement of similar deals with Hull City and French clubs RC Lens and FC Nantes. On 9 June 2014, Derby County announced that their kits for the 2014–15 season would be made by Umbro.
Later in 2014, Umbro announced deals to supply a number of teams, including the Serbia national football team, the Malawi national football team, Vasco da Gama and Grêmio.
In February 2015, Dutch Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven announced a new kit deal with Umbro, replacing PSV's previous deal with Nike, which had been in existence since 1994. The deal coincided with PSV's return to the UEFA Champions League after a six-year absence. PSV Eindhoven Announce Five-Year Umbro Kit Deal , 17 February 2015
In late April 2015, West Ham United announced a new five-year agreement with Umbro as the club's official technical partner. This agreement included creating a commemorative kit for the Hammers' final year in the historic Boleyn Ground. "West Ham re-united with Umbro", West Ham United FC , 30 April 2015
In early December 2015, German club 1. FC Nürnberg announced a long-term kit deal with Umbro as the club's official kit supplier, replacing Adidas. Umbro and 1. FC Nürnberg Sign Long-Term Kit Deal , 3 December 2015
In May 2016, it was announced that Umbro had become the technical sponsor of Blackburn Rovers in a five-year deal. It would also return to making AFC Bournemouth's kit after two occasions in the 1970s and 1980s for the 2017–18 season.
In June 2017, seven-time German champion FC Schalke 04 announced a five-year deal with Umbro, replacing Adidas after 55 years. Also in December 2017, Umbro announced a deal with the Jamaica national team.
In Europe, Iconix holds a brand licensing agreement with Scotland company GL Dameck Ltd to produce Umbro clothing and products. On 25 March 2024, it was reported that GL Dameck had sublicensed the Umbro brand to Manchester based Castore, the latter became the sole licensee for Umbro Professional Team Sports apparel, enabling them to distribute the Umbro brand across several key European markets.
Until the mid-1980s, the company manufactured only sports clothing, in particular football jerseys, shorts and socks, but had no footwear range. Eventually, in 1985, Umbro decided to introduce its first football boot into the Brazilian market. This design, cheaper than the products of existing boot brands such as Adidas, proved popular and went into mass production internationally two years later.
Umbro also manufactured a popular style of shorts that reached its peak in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were made of nylon, had a drawstring waistband, and often came in bright colours. With the growth of youth soccer leagues in the U.S. in the 1980s, many youths, teens and young adults began wearing them as everyday clothing. At the height of the "Umbro fashion," other brands of football shorts, such as Adidas, Diadora, Hummel, Lotto and Mitre, also became popular. Its major competitors in this market include Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Puma AG and Lotto.
Other releases by Umbro include the Stealth boot, released in 2010 and worn by players such as Gaël Clichy and Phil Jagielka. The same year, the company released the GT, worn by then-Fulham striker Darren Bent. The company announced it as its lightest ever boot. This was succeeded by the GT II model. June 2011 saw the release of the Umbro Geometra Pro. In 2013, Umbro introduced to a new wave of releases that included the Speciali IV and the Geometra II.
Following the purchase of the brand by Iconix Brand Group in 2013, the first major product release from Umbro was the UX-1, a technologically advanced football boot which was voted as one of the best new releases of the year.
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