Summer Round-Up: New Shirt and Sponsor

We've been quiet here at UTAS over the summer, but it's been busy over at the Abbey. We take a look at what's been going on. First up: A new shirt & sponsor to announce.

United launched their new home, away and goalkeeper kits over the past couple of weeks, changing to Umbro after four successful seasons with Hummel.

It's fair to say Umbro had some pretty big shoes to fill, with Hummel being responsible for some of the best shirts we've seen at the Abbey for as long as we can remember. Luckily, they've hit the ground running, with a pair of distinctive outfield shirts that are finding fans not just in CB5, but nationwide.

The home shirt is mostly Amber, with a jagged pattern on the shoulders & sleeves that seems inspired by the traditional Umbro diamond pattern that featured on the sleeves of our shirts in the early 80s. A retro-inspired V-neck collar completes the look, but the biggest talking point was the new sponsor, Cambridge based craft beer brewery Brewboard.

Sticking to the retro theme, the away shirt really is a thing of beauty. Of course as with all football shirts it'll divide opinion, but from what we've seen the reaction has been mostly positive. White, with a proper collar and a bold graphic on the shoulders we think it's going to become an instant classic.

United also launched a couple of new Goalkeeper kits too, one in blue and one in yellow. The blue one mixes elements of yellow and pink, whereas the yellow one is the reverse of it - if one thing let Hummel down it was it's relatively plain 'keeper shirts, so these two are a real fresh start to the new shirt deal. In particular the yellow one reminds me of an old Vandanel one from the early 90's.

So, that sponsor then. In sticking with the clubs community ethos they've chosen a local business to sponsor the shirts, partnering with Brewboard. We've tried a few of their beers and they get a thumbs up from us, and it's nice to see them using United imagery (the floodlights and NRE) on the packaging of a couple of their cans, as well as the club badge. Of course, alcohol sponsorship isn't going to sit right with everyone, but we're told the club turned down more lucrative offers from gambling and crypto companies to work with a local company. As alcohol brands aren't allowed on kid's shirts Brewboard have donated the space to the Community Trust so child shirts will feature their logo on the front instead.