Three Lions – Football Kit Geek

Euro 2024 is about to start, this is the 17th Euros Finals since they started in 1960 and will be hosted by Germany between 14th June and 14th July 2024.

The European Championship Finals have gone through several different formats since its inception, from just 4 teams for the initial tournaments up to 24 teams since 2016

1960 – 1976, 4 Teams
1980 – 1992, 8 Teams
1996 – 2012, 16 Teams
2016 – Onwards, 24 Teams

Here we have a look at the history of England’s Kits through out the competitions in preparation of this year’s tournament, I did something similar for World Cups originally in 2018 on this site – here and in more detail in Volume 5 of Kit Magazine for the 2022 World Cup.

England have qualifed for 10 out of 17 tournments and played a total of 38 games through their finals appearences.

Kit Overview of Euros

4 Team Tournament: 1968

8 Team Tournaments: 1980, 1988, 1992

16 Team Tournament: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012

24 Team Tournament: 2016, 2021

Tournaments in Detail

1968 – This was only tournament where there was four teams that England Qualified for and was hosted in Italy, as then World Cup Holders, the tournament consisted of two semi-finals and then 3rd/4th Playoff game and Final.. England losing in their Semi-Final against Yugoslavia and then beating The Soviet Union in the 3rd/4th Place game. The kit worn in both games was the same as the kit worn in 1966, the classic England look of that time!

1980 – The next time England qualifed for the Euros was in 1980 again held in Italy, and this was the first tournament that saw of an expansion of teams qualifed doubling to 8 Teams, with group stages added for the first time. England were in Group B, played all their group games in their classic Admiral Primary Kit most famously used in World Cup 82. With a win, draw and loss in the group it meant that England did not go past the group stage, so it was just the three appearences of the Primary Kit, it is also worth noting that the kit did not contain any Admiral Branding as it was not permitted in tournaments at this time.

1988 – England followed a positive World Cup Campaign in 1986 by qualifying for 1988 Tournament in West Germany and England now in Umbro and will be in the Euros until 2016. It was not the most memorable competition on the pitch with three defeats in the three group games meaning they were rock bottom of their group, this probably reflects on the memories of the kit worn, they used their Primarty Kit in all three games and was one of the best Umbro Kits for The Three Lions and had Change and 3rd Kits in the same template.

1992 – The final 8 Team Tournament was also the first time that England qualifed for The Euros in consecutive tournaments, hosted by Sweden it was another campaign that England failed to go past the group stage however the team did manage to draw two games only losing against hosts Sweden which prevented their progression from the Group. It was another tournament that the Primary Kit was the only kit used, and was the same kit that was seen in World Cup ’90, this was the last time an England Kit was used in two major tournaments.

1996 – Euro 96 was the first of the next expansion of the tournament, with 16 Teams qualifying with 4 Groups of 4 teams and the introduction of Quarter-Finals for the first time. England were the Host Nation and coming off the back of failing to qualify for World Cup ’94 there was high expectation of the team to succeed on home soil.

England finished top of their Group and qualifed for the knock out stages for the first time in the Euros. The Primary Kit from Umbro was one that introduced a turquoise blue accent to the kit for the first time and was worn in each of the group games and the penalty win against Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

The Semi-Final was the first time that England used a change kit in Euros History and the first time a change had been used by the team in any major tournament since World Cup ’82. It was one of the most well known kits in England Football History, the Indigo / Grey change kit was one has always drawn a lot of attention and been written about so much over the years… however this was its only tournament appearance.

2000 – Euro 2000 was the first Euros to be Co-Hosted, with Belgium and The Netherlands welcoming 14 other countries to their shores. England took to the new millennium in a classic look that called back to the 60’s in it’s design and remains one of the most under-rated kits worn by The Three Lions. The Primary Kit was worn in their opening group game against Portugal and their final group game against Romania, both ending in 3-2 defeats, which meant they did not progress to the knock out rounds.

Their change was also used against Germany, who were also in their change kit for the game, this was the first time that England played in their traditional Red change colour in Euros Finals. The shirt itself is an interesting design being made of an almost wollen material, one that seems a world away for the structure of shirts made today.

2004 – The following Euros was held in Portugal and was in the middle of the “Golden Generation” of England team, with high expectations of the team and their Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. In the Group they wore their Primary Kit twice and Change Kit once, qualifying from their group for the 2nd time they also wore their Primary Kit in their Penalty defeat against Hosts Portugal.

The Umbro Kit contained a lot more red then seen before, with red shoulder / sleeve taping on the shirt, this was the first England Kit that added a “Star” for their World Cup Victory in 1966, however it was placed on the sleeve of the shirt, not above the crest as normally place. It was also marketed as a reversable shirt, with the reverse being a leisure shirt alternative.

The Change Kit worn against Croatia was again the traditional red shirt but was paired with silver shorts and silver detailing, it also contained “playful” takes on the St.George’s Cross on the shoulders, with a design with paid tribute to the fans with flags drapped on their shoulders.

2012 – England failed to qualify for the 2008 tournament, so their next appearence was in 2012 in the competition hosted by Poland and Ukraine. This was also the final tournament that the team would be wearing Umbro as their Kit manufacturer and it was a new take on their Primary Kit for this tournament.

The kit being all white for the first time in it’s default look, in fact with the National Crest, logo and nameset all in red, there was no navy in the kit at all, also paired with a complementary goalkeeper kit in all red! This Kit was worn in the opening and closing group fixtures as well as the penalty defeat against Italy in the Quarter-Finals.

The Change kit worn against Sweden was another move away from the traditional red, with an All Navy Kit as part of the Tailored by Umbro range, although the default look was with Sky Blue Shorts it was the all navy when it came to an alternative look needed, this was the first time that England wore an alternative look in Euros Finals in their 24th game.

2016 – It was time for change again in Euro 2016, the teams qualifying increased to 24 with 6 Groups of 4 teams and the introduction of Last 16 Knock-out round, meaning teams getting to the final would play a total of 7 games, the same as World Cups. it was also change on the Kit front for England, with Nike now being the kit supplier for their 2nd Major Tournament after the World Cup 2014.

The Primary kit being one of the more controversial kits of The Three Lions’ Kit History, the Nike Vapor Template was a kit look that was paired with contrasting socks, in England’s case it was red socks… with Sky Blue sleeves, this was big change that not all fans were happy with!

For me, I love this kit, I love this template, it’s adventurous and challenges the standard designs!

The Primary Kit was worn in two of the group games and the shock defeat in the Last 16 game against Iceland, their Change Kit was worn against Slovakia which is the same template as the Primary in red and blue.

2020 – Due to the Covid Pandemic the 2020 tournament was postponed one year, so took place in 2021 and was held across Europe with 11 Countries / Cities hosting games, celebrating 60 years of the Tournament. England hosting games across the Group Stages and Knock-out rounds including both Semi-Finals and Final all at Wembley Stadium.

England, again with Nike went for a more classic look for their Kit, with Navy Blue shorts paired with a classic looking shirt and rounded collar, also a return of a central Crest for the first time since 2004.

England however did use alternative white shorts in all of their Group Games and contunied the All White look into their Knock-Out Last 16 game against Germany, it was not until the Quarter-Final match against Ukraine that they wore Navy Shorts, which would be for the first time in the Euros Since their Quarter-Final defeat against France in 2004, 17 years earlier. The same look was used in their Semi-Final victory against Denmark.

In the Final against Italy, it was a return to All White again, meaning they wore their Primary Kit through-out the tournament’s 7 Games, the first time a change kit was not worn by England in The Euros Finals since 1992.