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

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In May, the FA revealed a new lion logo for its grassroots initiative England Football. It features a red lion, lioness and cub, and aimed to the give the crest “a fresh purpose that symbolises inclusivity at all levels of football,” the FA said. However, it does not replace the Three Lions on the national shirt. Three Lions on a Shirt is a beautiful, high quality coffee-table book containing an incredible collection of historic match worn England football shirts. And while the look of the Three Lions may have changed over the years, they have been ever present on the England kit since the 1870s - apart from a few rogue shirts in the 1970s - but we’ll come to that later.

This time round Shakey turns his attention to the England shirt with this new book (published November 2022), ‘Three Lions on a Shirt’. An official FA publication, collectors Daren Burney and Neville Evans (owner of without doubt THE most incredible football shirt and memorabilia collection) join Shakey once again, as they both did for the Spurs book, and open their archives.After nine years with Admiral, England and Umbro rekindled their relationship in early 1984. This time the manufacturer's double diamond logo appeared on the front of the lightweight polyester shirts. By the time the World Cup in 1990 came around Umbro had gone for a shirt that was complemented by a simple yet striking pattern of zig-zags and diamonds within the fabric and navy collar. 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) Harry Kane wearing the all red England away kit for 2022 at Wembley against Germany (Image credit: Getty Images) Three Lions on a Shirt is a beautiful, high quality coffee table book containing an incredible collection of historic match worn England football shirts. Fast forward a few decades and Richard was getting ready to choose an emblem of his own. He was the son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and his powerhouse of a mother also had a lion on her own family coat of arms. So Richard added a third lion to his personal crest and suddenly, we’re singing.

The England third shirt made famous by the World In Motion video (Image credit: Vision Sports Publishing) 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.It was their son Richard the Lionheart – famed for his exploits in the Crusades (he actually spent very little time in England, was once held for ransom by an Austrian and a German, and was killed by a Frenchman while besieging a castle) – who decided to combine all three lions to make up his arms. They ended up on England shirts when the Football Association was looking for an emblem for the kit its players would wear at international games in the late 19th century. They settled on the three lions and presumably gained royal permission (as this was 1879, that must mean that Queen Victoria was somewhat amused at the idea).

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.

Fascinating feature articles, covering everything from grass-roots football to the international scene 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. 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. Look closely and you’ll see the lions have company with more royal links. There are also ten Tudor roses on the badge worn proudly by England’s footballers but, for some reason, the floral motif has never been as famous. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth

England played Czechoslovakia in 1975 and seven of the Admiral kits did not have the Three Lions badge on (Image credit: Three Lions on a Shirt Book) 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? June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station.

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. The very first England shirt worn by Arnold Kirke Smith in the game against Scotland in 1872 (Image credit: The National Football Museum ) England wore red for the first time in May 1947 against Switzerland (Image credit: Three Lions on a Shirt Book)

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