Man City Reveals Nike Kit In Second Home
Manchester City Football Club has kicked off its week-long New York Tour with the unveiling of the team’s new 2013/14 home kit, just days after announcing a partnership with the Yankees, the city’s legendary baseball team, that will see the two sporting powerhouses join forces to create a new Major League Soccer franchise, the New York City Football Club.
With the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop and a supporting cast of City fans from Manchester and the surrounding five boroughs performing the ‘Poznan’, City stars Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Jack Rodwell, Carlos Tevez, James Milner and Matija Nastasic, revealed the club’s first ever Nike kit.
Nike replaces Umbro as the club’s official shirt manufacturer – the same brand it replaced on the England kit – after signing a deal worth £72 million over six years, according to media reports, a boost for the Manchester club with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules set to come into effect.
The new kit features a sky blue body with a white ribbed crew neck and cuffs. The collar and cuffs also feature a dark blue trim to represent the colour of the socks City wore as a part of one of their first ever kits in 1892.
Weighing only 150 grams, and made from recycled polyester, it is the lightest shirt Nike has ever produced.
Fans in St. Louis and New York will be able to see the new kit for themselves when City step out at Busch Stadium and Yankee Stadium to play Chelsea, marking the beginning of a partnership with the global sports giant, that will run until 2019.
Commenting on the new partnership and New York Tour, Tom Glick, chief commercial & operating officer for Manchester City, said: ‘We are delighted to join forces with Nike. Having them as our new Technical Kit Partner demonstrates City’s growing global appeal, and we look forward to working alongside Nike to build and engage our fan base around the world. Nike’s extensive distribution networks will ensure the Club’s presence in markets stretching from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas and that our fans everywhere can find a wear a City shirt.’
‘We are also pleased to unveil our new look during our matches in New York and St. Louis this week. This is our third visit to the USA in the last three years, and we enjoy a fantastic following here. It’s an exciting time for soccer in the States, and we are big believers in its future. Passion for the game from fans and participants is strong and growing, and we look forward to playing a part in its on-going development.’
As part of the current New York Tour, City will once again visit Lexington Academy in Spanish Harlem to discover the progress of the rooftop pitch the Club donated to ensure local elementary children could play football in a safe and secure environment.
The Blues are also planning to visit the New York Fire Department, reconstruction works at the site devastated by Hurricane Sandy and hold a free open-training sessions for City’s fans.
City recently made headlines both at home and across the water when the Club’s other US fixture in St. Louis’s Busch Stadium, set a new football record in America by selling out in less than twenty minutes.
