Nike to Become England’s Kit Provider?

UK newspaper The Daily Mail has released an exclusive article featuring details regarding the English Football Association signing a kit deal with Nike. Here is the full body of the feature.

Source: The Daily Mail

American sportswear giant Nike are on the verge of signing the deal to be the official kit provider for the England football team.

Nike are believed to be launching a new England away strip as early as next spring, despite the fact the existing deal with Umbro was supposed to run until 2018.

Consumers eager to wear the current strip may have to fork out for another new England kit, though Nike’s plans are not yet clear.

The move, which will earn the FA millions, will be seen as a fightback after German rivals adidas dominated the Olympics by supplying Team GB.

FA officials were last week ready to announce that a relationship with Manchester-based manufacturer Umbro was about to be terminated.

And while the FA refused to comment last night, Sportsmail understands an agreement has been reached for Nike to take over.

Umbro’s link with England dates back to the 1950s, and their £20million a year deal runs until 2018.

It stipulated that only Umbro could supply the England team. But Nike announced in May their plan to sell Umbro – having bought them in 2007 for £285m – and made a proposal to the FA that the governing body seem ready to accept.

In a move first mooted in Sportsmail’s Sports Agenda column, Nike offered the FA the chance to sign a lucrative new deal or stay with a company facing an uncertain future, given how important the England contract has been to the brand for so many years.

Nike have also taken over the contract Umbro had with Manchester City. It was only in 2009 that the English champions signed a 10-year deal with Umbro, worth £6m a year.

City will wear Nike shirts from next season, and Nike England away shirts are due in spring.

The home strip was launched only in February and for two years, but the Nike ‘swoosh’ is likely to replace the Umbro badge on that kit as well next spring, which may not impress fans.

Check out our Kits and Jerseys section for more of the latest soccer shirts.