Programme Greater London Football League
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Main Sponsor Umbro is a British sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. The company is currently a subsidiary of Iconix Brand Group. Umbro designs, sources, and markets football-related apparel, footwear, and equipment. Its products are sold in over 90 countries worldwide. The company was founded by Harold Humphreys, along with his brother Wallace in a small workshop in Wilmslow, Cheshire, inspired by the growing interest in football witnessed nationwide. The name "Umbro" is a quasi-portmanteau inspired from Humphreys Brothers Clothing. Umbro's kit debut was in the 1934 FA Cup final, when both teams Manchester City and Portsmouth wore uniforms designed and manufactured by the company. Other teams supplied by Umbro during the 1930s and 1940s were Sheffield United, Preston North End, Manchester United and Blackpool. Umbro was the official sports manufacturer of the English FA Cup and official sponsor of The FA, being the exclusive supplier of balls to the body's leagues. In 1952, the British team at the Summer Olympics wore Umbro kits, tailored for the needs of their individual sports. Umbro would supply kits for the British Olympics team for the next 20 years. In 1957 Umbro entered the tennis market, producing sports clothing in collaboration with player Ted Tinling. This collaboration extended for three decades. Another sportsman who collaborated with Umbro was Manchester United manager Matt Busby, in 1959. That same year the company started to sell its junior boys' kits, a set of shirt, shorts and socks that would allow young players to wear the same look as their footballing idols. Brazil became the first FIFA World Cup champion to wear uniforms by Umbro in 1958. Two years later, Manchester United Scottish player Denis Law signed an exclusive agreement with the brand, becoming the first footballer to be sponsored by Umbro. The England national team won its first title in 1966 wearing kits by Umbro (the deal had been signed in 1954). Of the 16 teams that competed, 15 wore kit manufactured by Umbro, the only exception being the USSR. At the same time, 85% of British football teams wore uniforms by the company, including Celtic, the first British team to win a European Cup in 1967. Liverpool FC won the first four of their five European Cups while wearing Umbro kits, in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984. In 1974 Umbro's founder, Harold Humphreys, died. His sons John and Stuart took over the running of the company. The England national team wore Umbro shirts by choice until 1974, until the Football Association, encouraged by the England manager Don Revie, sold the jersey manufacturing rights to Admiral. After more than a decade wearing Admiral kits, the England national team signed with Umbro again in 1984. In 1986 Umbro began to manufacture its own football boots. The company added footballers Alan Shearer and Michael Owen (who was only 14 years old) to its list of sponsored athletes. In 1994 Brazil won its 4th FIFA World Cup title in the United States and club teams AFC Ajax (in 1995), and Manchester United F.C. (in 1999) obtained the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, in Tokyo, all of them wearing Umbro kits. In the United States, Umbro was the majority owner (94%) of United Soccer Leagues, the parent organization for North America's lower division men's soccer (tiers two through four in the American Soccer Pyramid), and the second tier women's league (W-League) and youth league (Super Y-League). During the 2009 USL First Division season, the Carolina RailHawks, Charleston Battery, Vancouver Whitecaps, Rochester Rhinos, Austin Aztex, and Puerto Rico Islanders all wore Umbro kits. During the 2012 USLPro season, the Dayton Dutch Lions wore Umbro. In October 2007, JJB Sports bought a 10.1% stake in Umbro in a move to protect its stake in the market for England football shirts. Map of London Football Teams (1) Detailed Map of London Football Teams (2) Football in London Football is the most popular sport, both in terms of participants and spectators, in London. London has several of England's leading football clubs, and the city is home to thirteen professional teams and more than 80 amateur leagues regulated by the London Football Association. Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play or used to play. Fulham is London's oldest club still playing professionally, having been founded in 1879. Royal Arsenal were London's first team to turn professional in 1891. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are London's most successful teams in domestic and European competitions. Between them, they've won a total of 84 titles and trophies. Tottenham Hotspur were the first club in Britain to win a European trophy, winning the Cup Winners Cup in 1963. Wembley Stadium, England's national stadium is in London. It is the home venue of the England national football team and has traditionally hosted the FA Cup Final since 1923. On 19 May 2012, Chelsea became the first London club to become European champions in the modern era after winning the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League. History The playing of team ball games (almost certainly including football) was first recorded in London by William FitzStephen around 1174-1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of Shrove Tuesday. The playing of some form of football in London has been well documented since its creation in 1314. Regular references to the game occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the first reference to word "football" in English when it was outlawed by King Henry IV of England in 1409. Early games were probably disorganised and violent. In the sixteenth century, the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. In 1581 he described in English his game of football, which included smaller teams, referees, set positions and even a coach. The playing of some form of football in London has been well documented since its creation in 1314. Regular references to the game occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the first reference to word "football" in English when it was outlawed by King Henry IV of England in 1409. Early games were probably disorganised and violent. In the sixteenth century, the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. In 1581 he described in English his game of football, which included smaller teams, referees, set positions and even a coach. Initially, football in London was dominated by amateur teams, drawing their membership from former public schoolboys but gradually working-class sides came to the forefront. Woolwich Arsenal was London's first professional team, becoming so in 1891, a move which saw them boycotted by the amateur London Football Association. Other London clubs soon followed Arsenal's footsteps in turning professional, including Millwall (1893), Tottenham Hotspur (1895), Fulham (1898) and West Ham United (1898). In the meantime, Woolwich Arsenal went on to be the first London club to join the Football League, in 1893. The following year, the Southern League was founded and many of its members would go on to join the Football League. In 1901 Tottenham Hotspur became the first club from London to win the FA Cup in the professional era, although it would not be until 1931 that a London side would win the Football League, the team in question being Arsenal (having moved to Highbury in 1913 and dropped the "Woolwich" from their name). Historically, the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies as those from North West England, such as Liverpool and Manchester United; however, today Arsenal and Chelsea are regarded as two of the Premier League's "big four" alongside them. In 2003-04 they became the first pair of London clubs to finish first and second in the top flight, with Arsenal winning. In 2004-05 they did so again, this time with Chelsea winning. The 2009–10 Premier League saw Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham finish in the top 4 places, the first time ever that three London clubs had done so, and it meant that that all three qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Before Chelsea's recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "big five" for most of the post-war period. All three clubs occupy the top ten in the all-time top-flight table for England – Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea being third, eighth and ninth respectively. The Complete List of Football Clubs in London [A] [G] Argonauts F.C. Greenhouse London F.C. Arsenal F.C. Greenwich Borough F.C. 2nd Grenadier Guards F.C. [B] 3rd Grenadier Guards F.C. Barking & East Ham United F.C. The Gymnastic Society Barking F.C. Barkingside F.C. [H] Barnet F.C. Hadley F.C. St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals FC Hampstead Heathens F.C. Beaumont Athletic F.C. Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. Bedfont & Feltham F.C. Hanwell Town F.C. Bedfont F.C. Hanworth Villa F.C. Bedfont Sports F.C. Haringey Borough F.C. Bedfont Town F.C. Harrow Borough F.C. Brentford F.C. Harrow Chequers F.C. Brentford F.C. Reserves and Academy A.F.C. Hayes Bridon Ropes F.C. Hayes & Yeading United F.C. Bromley F.C. Hendon F.C. Hendon F.C.