Kasabian are away from home to launch the new England away shirt at Paris gig

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (February 9th 2010): English rockers Kasabian have made history by becoming the first ever band to launch an England football shirt. The band revealed the new away shirt, tailored by Umbro, late last night in front of thousands of unsuspecting French fans during their encore at the iconic Paris Olympia theatre.

Frontman Tom Meighan wore the striking red shirt, which the England team will wear in South Africa this summer, during the encore as the band belted out their anthemic song 'Fire'.  Tom commented: “It’s brilliant to be the first band ever to launch an England shirt and where better to launch this particular kit than away from home? When Umbro approached us to represent England away we jumped at the chance as we are all football fans and loved the idea of revealing the England away shirt when playing in the country of one of our great footballing rivals.”

Traditionally, the first image released of a new England shirt is on players from the current England squad.  Explaining the change in approach, Trevor Cairns, Umbro Chief Marketing Officer, said: “For the launch of the latest England away shirt Umbro decided to turn to other Englishmen who, like the England team, represent the nation abroad.  We came up with the idea of approaching an English band on tour. Like a football team, they are ‘away’ when performing in other countries.  Kasabian are as passionate about their football as their music so it’s brilliant that they agreed to wear the shirt in Paris.”  

With the red shirt, the song ‘Fire’ and 2,500 fans going mad for Kasabian’s encore, it was a memorable moment that will live long in the memory of everyone in attendance.  Iconic images of the gig will be turned into a global advertising campaign for the brand, including a giant poster in Kasabian’s hometown of Leicester.

The shirt will be worn by the England squad for the first time during their friendly with Egypt at Wembley on March 3rd.   The shirt itself is tailored out of three distinct panels consisting of different technical fabrics, each one aimed at providing players with the best possible advantage:
1.    The front panel of the shirt is designed for comfort and therefore contains a high cotton content. It also features a sloping neck to increase ventilation to the player’s body
2.    The back and side fabric includes a mesh to help ventilation and to take moisture away from the player’s skin
3.    The sleeves, inspired by the 1966 England kit, have a high elastane content which allows maximum player movement  
Through individual fitting sessions with the England team, Umbro were able to create a bespoke, smart fit for each player which will be on display at the world’s most iconic football tournament in South Africa this summer. Umbro will be hoping it helps the team set the World Cup on fire.

The new away kit will go on sale on March 3rd and is available to pre-order now.