Three Lions on a Shirt: The Official History of the England Football Jersey

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With the 1978 World Cup in Argentina on the horizon Admiral started looking at their own lightweight, ventilated material similar to that used on Umbro’s airtex shirts.

The song rang out around Wembley louder than ever after England reached the final of Euro 2020 with Wednesday night’s amazing 2-1 win over Denmark. Which is why I think that when it caught fire, chiming with other fans’ experience, and people sang it at Wembley, it had this strange, brilliant effect – which is it’s a football song, for a country, that doesn’t feel nationalistic or triumphalist or aggressive. It’s upbeat but it retains throughout something melancholy and vulnerable. The first time I heard it sung by 78,000 people I could hear that too: the pain and the hope, as well as the joy. ( David Baddiel) The very first England shirt worn by Arnold Kirke Smith in the game against Scotland in 1872 (Image credit: The National Football Museum )And to this day, the three lions can still be seen flying proudly on the UK’s Royal Standard. But why they are on the England shirt? But what is the origin of England’s association with the King of the Beasts, and why do they adorn the crest on the shirts of the the national team? Here’s all you need to know. Why are three lions associated with England?

Goalkeeper shirt fans (Rob Stokes, I’m looking at YOU) won’t be disappointed either as keepers’ attire is also well documented in the book. There is something here for England fans and kit obsessives alike. Matchday embroidery, shirt numbers, variations, trim – it’s all covered in comprehensive detail and always presented in a very readable way. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024.Three Lions”, referring to the England national team’s badge, has helped inspire Harry Kane and his teammates right up until the moment he slammed in the rebound from his saved penalty in extra time to send the fans wild, and ensure his country’s first major final since the 1966 World Cup victory – a 55-year wait. Then, in 1152, Henry I’s grandson Henry, Duke of Normandy married Eleanor of Aquitaine – whose family also had a lion on its crest. Young Henry himself became King Henry II of England in 1154 – founding the great Plantagenet dynasty The badge on the English football team's shirts bears another very English emblem, a smattering of ten Tudor roses, the propaganda device that symbolises Henry VII uniting the house of Lancaster and the house of York after the Wars of the Roses. Euro 2020 begins on 11 June. The Lightning Seeds’ Jollification 25th anniversary tour restarts in September; David Baddiel: Trolls, Not the Dolls tour restarts on 10 September.