The Legacy of Admiral’s Iconic England Kit
The journey of Admiral Sportswear and the England National Team is a rich tale of innovation, tradition, and style that has spanned decades. From the design of the first World Cup-winning kit in 1966 to a groundbreaking collaboration with a youth club in Los Angeles, the legacy of Admiral's England shirt continues to resonate today.
1966: The Birth of an Iconic Shirt
The story begins in 1966, when Leicester-based Admiral Sportswear created a revolutionary football shirt that would go on to change the face of English football kits forever. The ‘World Cup’ shirt, designed specifically for the England National Team, featured lightweight interlock fabric with built-in elastication at the neck and cuffs. This allowed players more freedom of movement while helping the shirt retain its shape during play.
Gordon Banks, the iconic England goalkeeper, was an early advocate of the design. Having seen the kit firsthand, Banks wore an unbranded version for Leicester City during the 1965-66 season and was so impressed that he requested a similar shirt for England’s World Cup campaign that summer. The rest, as they say, is history. England lifted the World Cup, and Admiral’s shirt became forever linked with one of the most iconic moments in English football.
1974-1980: A Bold New Era for England Kits
Admiral’s collaboration with the England team continued throughout the 1970s, marked by a significant shift in kit design. Until then, England's shirts were mostly simple and monochromatic, typically white with minimal accent colors. But in 1974, Admiral revolutionized the traditional look by introducing colored taping down the sleeves, adding red and blue stripes to the white home kit and a similarly styled red away kit.
These bold designs, crafted from cotton or aertex, were a stark departure from the norm and required a high level of craftsmanship. For the first time, England fans could buy replica kits and wear them with pride, emulating their heroes on the field. This marked the dawn of the modern football kit era, with players like Kevin Keegan, who would go on to win back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards in 1978 and 1979, helping to cement the kit's place in the hearts of young fans.
1980-1983: The 1982 World Cup Kit—A Classic Reimagined
By 1980, Admiral was ready to take the England kit to new heights. For the Euro 1980 tournament, they unveiled a design that was groundbreaking in the football world: a bold red and blue yoke across the shoulders of the England shirt, a stark departure from the plain block colors of previous kits. This new design, which combined tradition with modern flair, instantly became synonymous with the England team.
At the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Admiral’s design took center stage. It was the first major international tournament in which manufacturers’ logos were allowed on shirts, and Admiral proudly showcased their logo on the England kit. Crafted from durable polyester, the new shirts maintained their vibrancy, even under the intense heat of the Spanish summer, thanks to the material’s color-fastness and moisture-wicking properties. A lightweight Aertex version was even produced to help players cope with the record-breaking temperatures.
This iconic 1982 World Cup kit remains one of the most beloved football shirts of all time, celebrated for its pioneering design and its place in the history of English football. And now, more than 40 years later, Admiral’s 1982 England shirt has been reimagined for a new generation of players.
FC England: A New Chapter in the Admiral Legacy
Fast forward to today and FC England, a youth soccer club based in Santa Monica, California, was facing a dilemma. Founded in 2015 by Paul Spacey and Ricky Collett, the club had been outfitting its players in Nike kits via an online retailer for several years. But ongoing global supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic meant delays of up to 12 weeks for new kits. As a result, FC England was struggling to get their new players outfitted in time for the season, causing significant frustration.
“We needed a reliable supplier who could deliver on time,” Spacey recalled. “Nike just wasn’t meeting the timelines, and it was becoming impossible to manage the club and keep the kids in uniform.”
That’s when Admiral Sportswear reached out to FC England. Paul Hamburger, CEO of Admiral, had seen FC England’s potential and saw an opportunity to collaborate. "We found FC England online and realized they were the perfect fit for us," Hamburger said. "They wanted something unique, and that’s exactly what we do."
A Redesigned Classic for FC England
With a name like "FC England," the club’s identity was already deeply connected to the country’s football heritage. Spacey and Collett wanted a kit that not only paid homage to that history but also stood out in the modern football landscape.
“We wanted a kit that reflected our club’s personality—something unique that tied into the England legacy but was still fresh and modern,” Spacey said. "And Admiral had the perfect solution."
Admiral’s design team worked with CFK Designs, a concept kit creator, to reimagine the iconic 1982 England shirt. The result was a modern take on a classic. The iconic red and blue yoke was reinterpreted into a sleek gradient pattern across the shoulders, while the body of the shirt featured a similar gradient stripe design, bringing the original to life with a contemporary twist.
This new kit was then integrated into Admiral's cutting-edge Admiral ID software, a 3D kit builder that allows clubs to create fully customized designs online. FC England was able to choose from an unlimited array of colors, upload their own crest, and adjust every detail of the kit. Unlike the limited options offered by larger brands, Admiral provided the freedom and flexibility to create a shirt that was entirely their own.
A Perfect Fit for FC England
FC England’s players now wear these redesigned Admiral kits every weekend, proudly sporting the iconic look of the 1982 England national team. "The kids are so happy to wear them," Spacey said. "We had two Zoom conversations with Admiral, and just like that, we had the perfect kit. Now two years later we have no plans to change it because it’s so unique.”
In addition to the unique design, Admiral’s commitment to timely deliveries meant that FC England no longer had to worry about long waits for new kits. "It was about quality, customization, and reliability," Spacey explained. "Admiral deliver on all fronts."
Through this partnership, Admiral has once again demonstrated the timeless appeal of the 1982 England kit, this time in a form that speaks to the future of the game. "Every jersey tells a story," Hamburger said. "We want to help clubs like FC England tell their story through their jerseys, and this design perfectly captures both the history of English football and the excitement of youth soccer today."
As FC England players wear their Admiral kits, they do so with pride, representing not just a youth club in Los Angeles, but a piece of football history that connects past, present, and future.