By Andy Warren
Share
£2 from every home shirt sold in July goes to the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation
The Club can today reveal the new Umbro home and away kits to be worn during the 2023/24 season.
The two kits are available to buy immediately, both in the Club’s Planet Blue store in Portman Road and online, with no pre-sale period.
Inspired by two iconic kits from the 1999/00 season, Town legends Marcus Stewart and Martijn Reuser joined members of the current men and women’s squads to launch the blue home and orange away shirts across the Club’s social media channels this morning.
In support of Marcus’s fundraising efforts for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, following his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis last year, the club will be donating £2 from every home shirt sold during July to the charity.
The Town men’s first-team will be wearing the new home kit in their opening pre-season friendly against Felixstowe & Walton United this afternoon, with supporters able to purchase from Planet Blue this morning.
The Club’s Women’s team, who currently compete in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division, will also be wearing Umbro’s new designs as they vie for promotion in 2023/24.
Both home and away shirts are once again produced by Umbro and are sponsored by Ed Sheeran for a third successive season, with his Mathematics Tour logo appearing on the fronts.
The Club’s ‘Running Towards Adversity’ message is again printed inside the collar, with the three stars representing Town’s major trophy wins on the reverse.
The home shirt’s colours are inspired by the iconic 1999/00 jersey, worn when the club won promotion to the Premier League at Wembley before going on to finish fifth in the top-flight the following season.
The shirt features white sleeve panels, a sports collar and a distinctive Umbro jacquard pattern running throughout the front of the jersey.
Red trim on the sleeves finishes off the styling, giving the overall design a smart, clean look and feel.
White shorts and blue socks, both with a small amount of red detailing, give the overall kit an iconic but fresh style.
The away shirt’s colour palette is also inspired by the 1999/00 season, based on the orange away strip made iconic by Marcus’s brace away at Bolton Wanderers in the first leg of the play-off semi-final.
The Umbro 2023/24 shirt features a smart navy trim and incorporates a navy tonal Club crest.
A classic Umbro graphic runs through the entire front panel of the shirt, which will be worn with orange shorts, also featuring the navy crest, and completed by an Umbro graphic. Orange socks complete the strip.
The Club’s Head of Retail, Paul Macro, said: “During the first two kit releases of the contract with Umbro we always planned to take inspiration from the past in order to create something new.
“We did that last season, taking inspiration from the early 90s to create two fresh designs, and this season we have focused on the iconic 1999/00 season as the foundation for the new kits.
“This season, we wanted the home kit to have a clean and fresh look after quite a heavy graphic was used in the 2022/23 shirts, so with this in mind we ran a subtle Umbro jacquard throughout the entire front panel of the shirt.
“The away shirt then became the focus for a more graphic orientated design, incorporating a classic Umbro pattern into the front.”
As well as a full range of men’s, women’s and youth sizes, children’s mini-kits are also on sale.
Home mini-kits range from 3-6 months through to 6-7 years and are inspired by the full replica shirts, featuring a v-shaped neck with textured ribbing either side of the neckline, rather than a fully folded collar, with smaller sizes featuring popper fastening for ease of use.
Away mini kits are available in sizes ranging from 2-3 years to 6-7 years, with both home and away mini kits supplied as a set including shirt and shorts.
Planet Blue will be open for sales until 5pm today before reopening from 10am-3pm tomorrow.
The new kits can be ordered online here.
