Melbourne Knights FC Official Website The Melbourne Knights are pleased to announce the continuation and a new multiyear partnership with iconic football brand Umbro.
Founded in England in 1924, Umbro focuses on football teamwear and have a proud history of providing traditional football kits to clubs all over the world. Beginning the partnership before the 2018 season, the Knights and Umbro have found on and off field success over the years with a number of memorable kit designs, limited edition releases and custom club apparel.
2018
2018 saw the first Umbro kits in the partnership with the Knights’ iconic red home jersey featuring retro trimmings to the collar and sleeves, with the inclusion of the checkers down the left side, a firm nod to the club’s history and Croatian heritage.
Continuing the visual representation of the club beginnings, the 2018 Melbourne Knights away jersey featured a red, white and blue collar and sleeve trims, as well as a horizontal red and blue pinstripe pattern over a crisp white jersey.
2018 World Cup
In celebration of the 2018 efforts of the Croatian National Football team, the Vatreni, Melbourne Knights Football Clubreleased a limited edition jersey in the style of the famous Black and Blue away strip the team famously playing in at the World Cup in Russia.
UMBRO x MKFC Retro Jersey
Marking the clubs 65th Anniversary, the Knights released a custom throwback Retro Jersey inspired by the glory days of the 80s, a time that encompassed a highly successful period in the clubs history, when it was known under the Melbourne Croatia Soccer Club moniker. The limited release proved to be ultra successful, making its way as a feature on the hugely popular online platform Soccer Bible.
2019
The second year of the partnership saw the release of the Knights home jersey featuring an alternating triangular pattern, however, the real star was undoubtedly the years away jersey, featuring a red, white and blue collar and sleeve trims, as well as the famous white and red checker taping on the sleeves, made famous on the 1996/97 Croatian National Teams Away strip. The 2019 away jersey is on record as being the most sold jersey during the Umbro partnership.
2019 FFA Cup
After the clubs successful run in the 2019 FFA Cup, the club launched a commemorative jersey in honour of Mirko ‘Rus’ Rastocic, the former grounds keeper of the club, to be worn during their round of 32 and beyond matches. The long sleeve home and away jerseys featured red and black bodies respectively with red and white checkered tape down the length of the sleeve.
2020-2021
Using the same kit over the two year COVID-19 period, the club released a Gunners inspired outfit, with the home jersey featuring white sleeves and red body with Umbro’s signature pattern, complete with Umbro sleeve ribbing. The away jersey adopted the same formula, however ditching the classic white ensemble for a more contemporary grey and black outfit.
The highly successful partnership continues into 2022, with the club to make an announcement on the 2022 Umbro kits shortly.
