may 1924 ; 92 years ago 1924 05 23 in wilmslow england founder harold & wallace humphreys headquarters cheadle greater manchester england area served worldwide products sportswear footballs football and rugby boots number of employees 1 678 parent iconix brand group website umbro.com umbro is an english sportswear and football equipment supplier based in cheadle greater manchester . umbro designs sources and markets football related apparel footwear and equipment . its products are sold in over 90 countries worldwide . since 2012 the company has been a subsidiary of american company iconix brand group . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 beginning and expansion 1.2 nike agreement 1.3 iconix brand group 2 products 3 sponsorships 3.1 associations 3.2 national teams 3.2.1 africa 3.2.2 america 3.2.3 asia 3.2.4 europe 3.3 club teams 3.3.1 africa 3.3.2 americas 3.3.3 asia 3.3.4 footballers 3.4 handball 3.5 curling 3.6 volleyball 3.7 artists 4 references 5 external links history edit beginning and expansion edit the company was founded by harold humphreys along with his brother wallace in a small workshop in wilmslow cheshire inspired by the growing interest in football witnessed nationwide . the name umbro is a quasi portmanteau inspired by humphreys brothers clothing . umbro s kit debut was in the 1934 fa cup final when both teams manchester city and portsmouth wore kits designed and manufactured by the company . other teams supplied by umbro during the 1930s and 1940s were sheffield united preston north end manchester united and blackpool . 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 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 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 . that same year the company started to sell its junior boys kits a set of shirt shorts and socks that would allow young players to wear the same look as their footballing idols . brazil became the first fifa world cup champion to wear kits by umbro in 1958 . two years later manchester united scottish 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 2 the only exception being the ussr . at the same time 85 % of british football teams wore kits by the company including celtic the first british team to win a european cup in 1967 . liverpool fc won the first four of their five european cups while wearing umbro kits in 1977 1978 1981 and 1984 . in 1974 umbro s founder harold humphreys died . his sons john and stuart took over the running of the company . the england national team wore umbro shirts by choice until 1974 until the football association encouraged by the england manager don revie sold the jersey manufacturing rights to admiral sportswear . 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 football boots . the company added footballers alan shearer and michael owen who was only 14 years old 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 . in the united states umbro was the majority owner 94 % of united soccer leagues the parent organization 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 . 3 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 . 4 nike agreement edit on 23 october 2007 it was announced umbro had agreed to be bought by nike in a deal worth gb 285 million the equivalent of 193p per share . the umbro board recommended to its shareholders they vote in favour of the approach as it offered a very competitive price for the business . umbro s share price at the time of the offer was close to 130p . 5 the deal was approved by regulators in december 2007 and concluded in february 2008 . 6 with the objective of revitalising the brand umbro launched the tailored by england lines . as of 4 june 2009 umbro signed a deal with manchester city to supply kits for the team . wearing umbro kits manchester city won its first championship in 35 years . 7 in 2010 umbro became sponsor of reformed american team new york cosmos to be its exclusive kit supplier . 8 in may 2012 nike reported that they would be selling umbro along with cole haan in order to focus on their sports brands including nike converse hurley and air jordan . 9 in september 2012 the fa announced that future england kits would be manufactured by nike . 10 11 12 iconix brand group edit on october 2012 nike announced that it had agreed with iconix brand group to sell umbro for us 225 million . 13 14 the acquisition was completed in december 2012 . 15 in february 2014 it was announced that umbro would supply everton from the start of the 2014 15 football season . 16 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 lens and 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 serbian national football team the malawi national football team vasco da gama and gr mio . in february 2015 dutch eredivisie champions psv 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 . 17 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 . 18 in early december 2015 german club 1 . fc n rnberg announced a long term kit deal with umbro as the club s official kit supplier replacing adidas . 19 in may 2016 it was announced that umbro had become the technical sponsor of blackburn rovers 20 in a five year deal . products edit a umbro product label umbro currently manufactures all types of sportswear apparel including training gear and football boots . 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 football 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 adidas nike lotto puma and fellow north west england manufacturer reebok . other releases by umbro include the stealth boot 21 released in 2010 and worn by players such as ga l 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 . 22 june 2011 saw the release of the umbro geometra pro . 23 in 2013 umbro introduced to a new wave of releases that included the speciali iv and the geometra ii . 24 following the purchase of the brand by iconix brand group in 2013 the first major product release from umbro was the ux 1 25 a technologically advanced football boot which was voted as one of the best new releases of the year . 26 sponsorships edit umbro is the official supplier and sponsor of numerous association football teams players and associations including universitario de deportes for 2016 umbro.com . associations edit umbro is the official football supplier for the following leagues and associations ffa cup national teams edit africa edit botswana malawi america edit canada peru asia edit turkmenistan panjab europe edit azerbaijan republic of ireland serbia s pmi club teams edit africa edit cr belouizdad usm el harrach husa maritzburg united tuks free state stars f.c. cape town city f.c. club africain nkana f.c. zesco united zanaco f.c. power dynamos mufulira wanderers nchanga rangers f.c. americas edit colombian team santa fe shirt designed by umbro for 2014 season . atl tico tucum n col n until 2016 defensa y justicia since 2017 estudiantes de la plata v lez sarsfield atl tico paranaense bahia since 2016 boavista since 2016 chapecoense cruzeiro since 2016 gr mio joinville remo uberaba since 2016 vasco da gama universidad cat lica barranquilla deportivo cali once caldas independiente santa fe herediano ldu quito necaxa ju rez universitario universidad san mart n danubio montevideo wanderers nacional asia edit seongnam fc brisbane roar central coast mariners gamba osaka f.c. tokyo balestier khalsa bangkok christian college uitm penang pachanga diliman al ahli sc al shabab fc goa banants mattersburg austria lustenau horn azal pfk inter baku pik sumgayit fk dinamo brest neman torpedo belaz zhodino aek larnaca enosis neon paralimni othellos athienou fc zbrojovka brno fk teplice slavia prague blackburn rovers derby county everton hull city macclesfield town north ferriby united salford city west ham united valkeakosken haka oulun palloseura caen lens nantes kolkheti 1913 poti shukura kobuleti n rnberg beginning in 2016 17 panserraikos st patrick s athletic acqui bari beginning in 2016 17 brescia ladies u.s. fezzanese 1913 beginning in 2016 17 giana erminio esil bogatyr psv limavady united linfield moira fc warrenpoint aalesund fredrikstad ik start moss sogndal v lerenga rotor volgograd ural vojvodina teruel rcd mallorca beginning in 2016 17 elfsborg gefle rgryte varberg adana demirspor colwyn bay footballers edit marcelo grohe yerry mina h ctor urrego antony otero mario gonz lez luis delgado charles monsalvo jordy monroy juan manuel leyton wilder medina sergio herrera camilo p rez hugo alejandro acosta scar rodas dairon mosquera fausto obeso jhon chaverra john breyner caicedo juan guillermo pedroza pepe