2009 Home – Launched 28 March 2009
This is the newest addition to the selection of shirts that England have worn over their history stretching back to the 19th century. As happens with new issues for international teams having such a large fanbase, the fans start speculating and giving their opinions regarding what the new strip should have included. Fake leaks start appearing on the Internet, and the manufacturers try hard to stop the actual thing from spreading. For the first time, the new England shirt has been manufactured by Nike, through its subsidiary Umbro. The original intent was to keep the shirt a mystery until the players remove their anthem jackets in the friendly against Slovakia. However, the actual shirt was leaked prior to this date, but removed shortly afterwards. Thus, lucky fans could get an early glimpse of what the team would be wearing until 2011 for matches at the Wembley.
Before unveiling the kit, the FA decided to redesign the Three Lions’ crest, making the blue lighter, improving the Tudor roses, and giving more colour to the claws and tongues of the lions. The motto used to market this shirt was ‘Tailored by England’, Umbro being based in Greater Manchester in England. Umbro manufactured a shirt that combined a traditional layout with ultra-modern fabric technology. They wanted to give the England team a classic look similar to that when the team triumphed in the 1966 World Cup.
It is an all-white shirt. Some football kit fans compared it to a normal polo shirt, but some praised it for being basic without unnecessary details. The collar is long and has a single button neck placket, helping to regulate body temperature. It is designed especially to provide comfort. The back of the neck is made out of highly-wicking material to keep players dry. To give the shoulders a better definition, the shoulder seam was tape-inverted. At the beck of the shoulders, there is a shoulder dart designed to improve the fit.
Another action to provide the best fit was to scrap conventional sizing charts (small, medium, large, XL), and use a new one measuring the chest size, ranging from 34″ to 58″ with a uniform 2-inch margin (34″, 36″, 38″, 40″, etc). The shirt has small holes in the lumbar zone at the back, and in the underarm, to improve ventilation. The shirt also has an underarm rib gusset to maximise flexibility and enable players to move freely. For all this, fans were asked to pay the Recommended Retail Price of £50 for an adult shirt without printing. This was highly criticised by fans, feeling they are being priced out, especially in time of great economic turmoil and higher-than-normal unemployment. As at April 2009, the shirt has been a very lucky one, used on two occasions and being 100% successful:
