Big news continues to come out of Union Omaha’s clubhouse. If you haven’t seen the announcements on social media, Union Omaha held a party in Benson on Thursday night to announce a recent partnership with Danish kit manufacturer hummel. The multi-year deal allows the Owls to wear the same brand as other high-profile clubs around the world, including Everton and Southampton of the English Premier League, FC Köln and Hertha 03 of the German Bundesliga, and national teams like Denmark, Lithuania, and Bahamas. The short presentation from club General Manager Peter Marlette included a video featuring Union Omaha midfielder Luis Gil wearing the new kit, as well as a brief explanation from Marlette toward the club’s decision, saying:
“In this partnership with hummel, we’re able to collaborate with one of the most creative brands in global soccer on truly custom offerings that represent our club and our community. This partnership allows us to offer our players and fans one-of-a-kind items without sacrificing any quality. In addition to creative freedom and high-quality product, hummel also allows us to offer jerseys and gear that are made in the United States.”
As seen in the picture above, Union Omaha’s first-released jersey offers a lot of subtleties when seen close up, including:
- A black base with ash-grey accents in the shape of feathers in vertical alignment
- hummel’s signature chevrons cascading down the shoulder with two lightning yellow chevrons on each side
- A small, lightning-yellow colored rectangle with black “OMA” letters inside, signifying the “One Means All” motto embraced by the club and fanbase
- The same “One Means All” motto printed on the inside of the back collar
- Room in multiple locations for Union Omaha’s jersey sponsors to display their logo
- The USL1 logo printed into the jersey, instead of an ironed-on patch
In several conversations with Union Omaha front office staff, Who Gives A Hoot learned that there are multiple jersey designs in place, with at least one coinciding with Pride Night next season. The partnership with hummel also allows the kits to be tailored to the individual player, providing an even better fit as they take the field.
Here are some quotes from front office staff, collected by Luke Opperman:
Peter Marlette (General Manager) – “The creative freedom and the collaboration that we’re going to be able to do with hummel is just going to open up so many opportunities for us and for our fans. And also, the fact that we can get quick-turn jerseys that are produced and made 100% in the USA has such an impact on what we’re trying to do and speaks to our message so well.”
Wes Mims (Equipment Manager) – “I think it’s amazing. The guys are going to look fantastic. It’s great quality. I’m super, super excited to have it. I can’t say enough great things about hummel.”
Justin Rolfes (Marketing & Communications Director) – “The creativity that we’re able to put into the kits is something that we’ve never been able to do, but always wanted to do. The fact that we’re able to do that with hummel and they walk alongside us with that to give us ideas and feedback and different tips and ideas…is invaluable to have a partner like that, that’s actually helping us being as creative as we want to be with it.”
Jack Yates (Graphic Design & Digital Media Coordinator) – “We didn’t want to do anything crazy, flashy. We didn’t want to do too little. So we got a cool, sublimated feather design on the jersey.”
Josh Todd (Senior Corporate Sales Executive) – “It’s a great deal for the club…the creative freedom we have with hummel is going to be off the charts.”
The new kit, along with many other new apparel are available in the club store, so click the link and check out all of the new offerings at the club. As far as we know, there aren’t personalization options available yet, but that availability should be coming very soon. There are plenty of good options in the team store, so get a head start on next year’s merchandise or finish your holiday shopping at the Union Omaha team store.
The 2023 season is already taking shape, so make sure you are up to date on everything related to Union Omaha by following Who Gives A Hoot on social media, checking the website for more articles, and listening to the latest episode of the podcast. As always…¡Viva Búhos!
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