![DOUBLE DIAMOND LAUNCH EVENT](/sites/default/files/2024-08/Launch.jpg)
DOUBLE DIAMOND LAUNCH EVENT
DOUBLE DIAMOND LAUNCH EVENT
Hotel Football in Manchester will host the launch of Alex Ireland's eagerly awaited Double Diamond: 100 Years of Umbro on Thursday 29th August, at 7pm.
Double Diamond - Alex's follow up to his first book Pretty Poly - celebrates Umbro's key role in the history of football and the sportswear industry since the company's foundation on 23 May 1924.
The event will include a Q&A with the audience, author Alex Ireland will talk us through the process of writing the book, the characters he met along the way, and the stories he unearthed including how Umbro:
- Supplied both 1934 FA Cup finalists just 10 years after the company was founded in a Cheshire pub cupboard.
Created a billion-pound industry with the invention of the replica football kit in 1955. - Became the world’s premier kit supplier by 1966, as the winners of the World Cup, European Cup, and the six major English and Scottish titles all wore Umbro.
- Served as adidas’ UK distributor for a quarter-century from 1961, before a souring of the relationship saw Umbro stripped of most of its major team assets.
- Revolutionised football merchandising during a period of unprecedented sporting and commercial success as Manchester United’s kit partner from 1992 to 2002.
- Had to start again from scratch in 2013, after their sale by previous owners Nike left them without a bank account or even a phone line.
Guests will also hear from key Umbro figures that Alex interviewed for the book, as they share their experiences in football whilst working for the company.
An expert panel will then present a series of original Umbro football items, and identify the innovations and design elements that made them iconic. The event will finish with an Umbro-themed quiz with prizes for the winners.
For more information and to book a ticket please click here.
Double Diamond is the story of Umbro, an ever-present figure in the development of modern football and the multi-billion-pound sportswear industry.
From Sir Geoff Hurst's World Cup Final hat-trick to Sergio Agüero's 2012 injury-time Premier League-winning strike, Umbro has featured in more iconic footballing moments than any other brand.
Football writer, kit collector and university academic Alex Ireland charts the Manchester sportswear firm's 100-year existence, from its 1924 foundation in a Cheshire pub backroom to clothing 85 per cent of British clubs and half the World Cup finals teams by 1966.
You'll discover the central role Umbro has played in the evolution of sportswear, the firm being a leader in the application of new technologies and innovations. From the invention of the replica kit in 1959 to supplying 11 teams in the inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season, Umbro has remained a key player amid the growing commercialisation and globalisation of the beautiful game.