Throwing on an England football shirt and heading out to the pub isn’t such a straightforward choice these days.
Firstly, you need to find an England shirt you actually like - which, in recent years, hasn’t been so easy. Then you need to reconcile whether you’re comfortable spending money on it when, in all reality, we might go out in the quarters. Then you need to evaluate if you really want to be walking around in an England shirt (is it giving Cool Britannia? Or is it giving Nigel Farage?), blending in with a bunch of other people in England shirts.
The alternative is much cooler. There is a wealth of football shirt collaborations up for grabs in 2024, each more chic and stylish than the last. It means you don’t have an alliance to a specific team or place, so you can seamlessly blend into any pub while maintaining a sartorial superiority over all the other punters. You don’t look like a Reform UK candidate, in fact, the closest you’d come to a political comparison is the so-called “candidate for menswear” Jovan Owusu-Nepaul.
Essentially, these are the shirts that will get you a “Sick shirt mate” from your peers, and everyone knows that’s the entire reason we wear football shirts anyway. And thanks to blokecore tearing through London at a speed that we haven’t seen since, well, Covid, there have never been more footy shirt collabs to choose from.
To avoid getting the ones that veer towards basic, we’ve sorted you a list of the seven best football shirt collaborations of 2024. Because watching England games is stressful enough. But dressing for them shouldn’t be.
Shop below
Umbro x Aries
One of the hottest collabs of this summer has been between Umbro, aka the undisputed king of football shirts, and luxury London-based streetwear brand Aries, who you may know for their unspeakably popular side-venture No Problemo.
The Umbro x Aries collab is an eight-strong sportswear collection entirely made up of “celebratory” red, white and blue, making it perfect for Euros 2024 watching. The football shirts are printed with a “double diamond” in reference to the Aries and Umbro logos, along with a pattern of roses, adding an enjoyable androgyny to the typically masculine items. Our pick is the white shirt, which looks like an actual England football shirt, just better.
Also available at Umbro
Buy now £130.00, Aries
Rizla x Lover's F.C
In a nicotine addicts’ dream world, Rizla would sponsor football shirts, but we can’t do that anymore - because, well, smoke. However, non-club affiliated football shirts can, so streetwear brand and fake football club Lover’s F.C. did exactly that. The shirts have been so popular that Lover’s F.C. officials say they “can’t make enough of them”, and we totally get why.
Between the vibrant colourways, the 90s silhouette and the slightly naughty sponsor, they’re like football shirt collab catnip. Wearing one of these will go down a treat in your local pub’s smoking area. Obviously.
Buy now £54.99, Lover's F.C
Puma x Coperni
If what you’re looking for is more of a high fashion football shirt, this one’s a winner. Part of Coperni’s first full collection with Puma (you may recall that the duo released a pair of highly viral, much sought-after shoes in January, but this is their first clothing collection), it features the trademark avant-garde, futuristic aspects of Coperni while remaining a truly chic football shirt.
From its little textured side embellishments to the porous breathable spaces at the back, to a gentle shimmer around its base, Puma and Coperni have crafted a football shirt quite like no other.
Buy now, Farfetch
Palace x Umbro
Perhaps the most in-demand football shirt collab of this year comes from skateboarding-turned-streetwear brand Palace, who teamed up with Umbro to make a football shirt because, well, Umbro. They’re the type of shirts you’d simply never see on the pitch, so this is one for standing out, not blending in.
You’re more likely to fit in at fashion week than a football stadium in this bad boy, especially considering how hard they are to get a hold of. Currently entirely sold out with another drop looking unlikely, your best bet for finding one of these is on resale sites. But god they’re good.
Buy now £168.00, StockX
Percival x Umbro
I told you Umbro was the king of football shirts! And boy does Percival know it, as they describe this collaboration themselves: “Umbro have been making the kit from day dot, Percival [has] been celebrating our mediocre footy skills since 2009.” Mediocre footy skills maybe, but mediocre footy shirt-making skills, certainly not.
This collab is full of gems, including a black and white Umbro logo scarf (so popular it’s sold out), a colourful quarter zip and two football shirts. We’re picking the red and white colourway, because en-ger-land, and we don’t want to run any risks of allez-ing les bleus (although the blue one is very, very nice, to be fair).
Buy now £41.30, Percival
Love Saves The Day x SWU FM
The beloved Bristol festival Love Saves The Day came up with a genius marketing technique this year by way of designing their own football shirt, in collaboration with local Bristol radio station SWU FM.
The shirts are getting a lot of attention, and rightly so - they’re like a second kit wet dream. These are a great pick if you’re sick of the red, white and blue deluge and want something a little more colourful. Plus, its Bristol roots mean that you’re unlikely to see it on the backs of every other person in East London. Huzzah!
Buy now £44.95, Love Saves The Day
Adidas x NTS Radio
Okay enough bad-mouthing East London, because this is a truly lovely football shirt. Born from a collab between Hackney radio station NTS and football kit giants Adidas, this creation is exactly the kind of football top that’s a dream to pair with clothes.
Poppy colours, simplistic shapes and not too much fuss, this is your most versatile footy shirt yet. And you’re supporting a local radio station, so you get to feel good about yourself too. Wear it around Hackney and you’ll get a proper IYKYK response.
Buy now £60.00, Adidas
