The club has announced a two-year deal with Denmark-based clothing manufacturer hummel, including the supply of playing strips.
The Central Coast Mariners and hummel Australia today confirm that the Denmark-based sports clothing manufacturer will provide the club-s apparel, including playing strips, for the next two seasons.
The home and alternative kits will be formally unveiled closer to the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 campaign, and will comprise at least one brand new South American inspired design. The club-s traditional colours of yellow and navy will, of course, be retained as the prominent features of the clothing, while incorporating hummel-s signature ‘chevrons-.
“Naturally, we-re very excited about the prospect of linking up with hummel Australia over the next two years,” said club Chairman Peter Turnbull.
“Since the Hyundai A-League-s inception, the Mariners have aspired to make the most of all licensing and apparel opportunities as a part of our brand strategy. Our approach has always had both on and off-field aims and certainly this new deal allows us to expand upon that philosophy.”
“We were the first Hyundai A-League club to introduce vertical stripes into a playing kit in 2009, and together with hummel Australia, the club will once again be providing quality, unique licensed products for our supporters to enjoy,” he explained.
Hummel has its roots firmly planted in rich football culture, having previously supplied apparel for European heavyweights such as Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur as well as the Danish national team.
The company was established in Germany in 1923 and currently kits out over 60 professional football clubs across Europe, Asia and Africa including ADO Den Haag, RC Strasbourg, AFC Champions League 2006 winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC and Scottish Premier League side St. Mirren.
Domestically, the manufacturer has a long lasting affiliation with Football NSW as well as all of the Westfield W-League sides.
“There is no doubt that hummel is a company with a long and distinguished history in the game of football,” Turnbull said.
“That kind of respectable, quality brand is the kind of organisation that our club wishes to be associated with and this agreement therefore fits comfortably within our football club-s core values.”
As part of the deal, the Mariners will become hummel Australia-s new distributor throughout the Central Coast, providing local clubs and organisations with apparel, creating yet another link between the club and the community.
Hummel Australia National Brand Manager Nathan Russell said the new deal was a crucial step in the continued expansion of the company-s operations into the Australia & New Zealand region.
“At the end of the day it-s great to be involved with a club that has similar values to our own in terms of creating close ties with the community and having a commitment to looking after those involved at the grassroots level of the game.”
“It-s also a brand lift for hummel Australia in terms of exposure to a broader audience. Obviously with our close association with Football NSW the organisation is quite well known in the Sydney area, but this deal is a great development for us as our national exposure increases,” he said.
The Mariners team and coaching staff will be decked out in new hummel training gear when they return to the pitch for the pre-season next Monday, 16 May.
