Mitre Sports International

Mitre Sports International Ltd., known as Mitre, is an English equipment manufacturer based in Wakefield. Mitre is mainly focused on association football but also providing equipment (mainly balls) for other sports. Having founded in 1817 in Huddersfield, the company is one of the oldest of its type in the world.[1] Mitre is currently a subsidiary of the British family–owned Pentland Group.

Mitre
Subsidiary
IndustrySports equipment, textile
Founded1817 (1817) in Huddersfield, England
Headquarters
Wakefield
,
England
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsBalls, sportswear, accesories
ParentPentland Group
Websitemitre.com

Products manufactured and commercialised by Mitre include sports equipment for association football (balls, team uniforms, clothing lines), rugby union (balls, training shirts)[2], basketball (balls), and netball (balls, rings). Mitre also offers a list of accesories for those sports such as bags, space markers, water bottles, safety cones, among others.

The "Delta" football has been used in some professional leagues of the United Kingdom including the Football League Cup, The Football League, Scottish Premiership, Welsh Premier Division and the Football League Trophy. Mitre also supplies many other competitions including the Isthmian League, Evo-Stik Southern League, Spartan South Midlands League and many more. These leagues play with a variety of footballs including the Delta Hyperseam, Max Hyperseam and ProMax Hyperseam. Internationally, Mitre have its footballs used across a variety of competitions around including the AFF Championship and the S.League.

History

In 1817 Benjamin Crook opened his tannery in Huddersfield, England, giving his own name to the company he founded.[3] The origin of its name is related to the longtime friendship between Crook and the bishop of the village. Crook took the ceremonial head-dress worn by bishops in traditional Christianity (the "mitre") to name his company.[4]

The company produced footballs and rugby balls for clubs all over the world, and in 1959 Mitre expanded into cricket, soft leather and bags. Sports footwear followed a year later. Manchester United's prominent footballer Denis Law became the first official Mitre spokesman in 1964. Two years later Mitre went on to become the official ball supplier for the English Football Association, and for the next forty years, the FA Cup Final was to be played with a Mitre ball.

Muhammad Ali wore Mitre in his 59th professional fight against Leon Spinks in New Orleans, and Stuart Pearce wore Mitre football boots in 1977. Mitre was also the official ball supplier to the 1987 Rugby World Cup,[5] jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. In 1992, Mitre became the official ball supplier to the newly formed FA Premier League,[6] introducing its synthetic footballs instead of leather balls, which had been used previously. In 2003 the Mitre ball was used in the Netball World Championships held in Jamaica.[7] The England national netball team also appeared at the tournament wearing Mitre apparel.

In 2000 Mitre arrived in Argentina, signing deals with several Primera División clubs. Newell's Old Boys, Estudiantes de La Plata, Unión de Santa Fe, Belgrano de Córdoba, Arsenal de Sarandí and Chacarita Juniors were the first teams wearing uniforms by Mitre.[4] Football star and UNICEF goodwill ambassador George Weah teamed up with Mitre in 2004 to donate 5,000 footballs to underprivileged children in Liberia and 5,000 footballs to Iraqi children. Another endorsee joined Mitre in 2006, when Australian cricketer and record breaking test wicket-taker Shane Warne was signed to wear Mitre footwear and protection.[8]

In 2007 Mitre launched its new "Revolve" football ball to the EFL, where each club played with its own club coloured and badged ball. This was the first time this had happened. Mitre also re-entered the apparel markets with kit deals with Ipswich Town and Huddersfield Town FC. In 2008 Mitre signed All Black player Luke McAlister to be the figurehead of its rugby range. The same year, the company signed an agreement with the El Salvador national football team to be its exclusive uniform provider.[9] In 2009 Mitre expanded its business in South America, becoming the official uniform provider of many teams of the Chilean league.[10]

In June 2011, Mitre extended its deal with the Scottish Premier League to be the official ball supplier until 2015.[11] In 2015 Mitre released their new Hyperseam technology,[12] which will grace The Football League and Scottish Premier League for years to come as they both announced new sponsorship deals for Mitre to continue being the official ball supplier. In 2015 Mitre also started to personalized footballs as a gift option for young football fans [13] In 2016, Mitre announced its sponsorship deal to become the official match ball sponsor for the Singapore Professional Football League. Mitre also announced gloves sponsorship for Singaporean goalkeepers Nozawa Yosuke (Albirex Niigata Singapore),[14] Khairulhin Khalid (Hougang United) and Beatrice Tan (Singapore women's national team). The sponsorship with Beatrice Tan marked the first time that a female footballer is being sponsored in Singapore.

In May 2017, Mitre brought back the "Delta" ball design as the official match ball of the English Football League since the 2017–18 season.[15] The company also launched its "Legend Returns" campaign to promote the event. The football was unveiled live on Soccer AM and at Wembley Stadium.

Products

The following chart contains all the product lines by Mitre.[16]

Mitre Delta V12S ball, made for PFL of Ukraine
Sport Range of products
FootballTeam uniforms, boots, goalkeeper gloves, shin guards, balls, goals, linesmman flags, cones
BasketballBalls
NetballBalls, rings
Rugby unionBalls, training shirts
ClothingJackets, raincoats, hoodies, t-shirts, polo shirts, compression garment, shorts, leggings
AccesoriesBags, pums, water bottles, safety cones
Notes

    Sponsorships

    The following is a list with teams, associations and players that wear uniforms and equipment provided by Mitre:

    Football

    Club teams

    Associations

    Mitre provides its official balls for the following football associations:

    Players

    Netball

    Mitre provides its official balls for the following netball association and players:

    Rugby

    The company sponsors the following players:

    Former sponsorships

    Football

    Associations

    Notes
    1. Match balls and referees gear
    2. Includes the S.League, National Football League and Island Wide League.[21]
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    gollark: Speeding is a capital crime here.
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    gollark: If the renderer were redone to be actually sane you could probably make it perform as well as regular minecraft.
    gollark: Umwn, have you seen the speed limit enforcement turtle?

    References
    1. Atkinson, Neil (4 August 2015). "Sporting history with its roots in Huddersfield". Examiner Live. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
    2. Rugby equipment on Mitre
    3. "History".
    4. Entrevistas: Mitre Argentina on Piel de Ascenso, 2015
    5. RWC 15: A history of the World Cup match ball by Andy McGeady, The Irish Times, 10 Sep 2015
    6. The evolution of the Premier League ball by Alex Bywater on 12 Aug 2016
    7. England Netball Joins Forces with Mitre Sports, SportCal, 19 Jun 2003
    8. Shane Warne teams up with Mitre, 25 Aug 2006
    9. "Mitre.com - Footballs, Training Kits & Other Sportswear". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010.
    10. "Mitre.com - Footballs, Training Kits & Other Sportswear". Archived from the original on 25 October 2011.
    11. "Mitre.com - Footballs, Training Kits & Other Sportswear". Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
    12. "Hyperseam Footballs - Mitre.com".
    13. "Personalised Football: The Perfect Gift".
    14. MitreSG sponsors Yosuke Nozawa, 6 Aug 2015
    15. Mitre Delta provides light relief for City, Perspecs News site, 26 Oct 2017
    16. Mitre Sports equipment on Mitre website, 6 Mar 2019
    17. "Patrocinadores de Deportes Tolima" at club official site, 9 January 2013 Archived 21 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    18. "New Team Kit Announcement". Berwick Rangers FC. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
    19. Football League Partners" at FL official site, retrieved 4 March 2013
    20. Mitre listed as sponsor at FAW official site, retrieved 4 March 2013
    21. "MITRE UNVEILED AS NEW OFFICIAL S.LEAGUE MATCH BALL SPONSOR | The Football Association of Singapore". www.fas.org.sg. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
    22. Endorsements and Associations on Mitre official site, retrieved 4 March 2013
    23. "Rugby endorsements and associations" on Mitre official site, retrieved 4 March 2013
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