Mitre is a British sportswear and equipment supplier based in England, owned by Pentland Group

Pentland Group

Pentland Group plc is a privately held, global brand management company based in the UK, involved in the sports, outdoor and fashion markets. It is owned by Stephen Rubin and family...

. Established in England in 1817, Mitre is the world’s oldest manufacturer of footballs

Football (ball)

A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...

.

History

In 1817 Benjamin Crook opened his tannery in Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

, England, giving his own name to the company he founded. By 1949 the name changed to "Mitre", producing footballs and rugby balls for clubs all over the world and in 1959 Mitre expanded into cricket, soft leather and bags. Sports footwear followed a year later.

Manchester United's prominent footballer Denis Law

Denis Law

Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....

 became the first official Mitre spokesman in 1964, and two years later Mitre went on to become the official ball supplier for the English Football Association, and for the next forty years the FA Cup Final

FA Cup Final

The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...

 was to be played with a Mitre ball.

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

 wore Mitre in his 59th professional fight against Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...

 in New Orleans and Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

 of Manchester City wore Mitre football boots in 1977. Mitre was also the official ball supplier to the 1987 Rugby World Cup

1987 Rugby World Cup

The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...

, jointly hosted by Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. In 1992, Mitre became the official ball supplier to the newly formed FA Premier League

FA Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

, introducing its synthetic footballs instead of leather balls which had been used previously. In 2003 the Mitre ball was used in The Netball World Championships

Netball World Championships

The World Netball Championships is a quadrennial international netball world championship co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations , inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australian national netball team and the New...

 held in Jamaica. The England national netball team

England national netball team

The England national netball team represent England in international netball competition. The team are presently co-captained by Karen Atkinson and Sonia Mkoloma, and were coached by Australian Sue Hawkins through to the end of the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore...

 also appeared at the tournament wearing Mitre apparel.

In 2000 Mitre arrived to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 signing deals with many teams of the domestic league

Argentine football league system

The Argentine football league system consists of two national divisions , and a series of regionalized lower divisions...

: Newell's Old Boys

Newell's Old Boys

Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario. The club was founded on November 3, 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell, one of the pioneers of Argentine football...

, Estudiantes de La Plata

Estudiantes de La Plata

Club Estudiantes de La Plata , simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history....

, Unión de Santa Fe

Unión de Santa Fe

Club Atlético Unión is a sports club from Santa Fe, the capital city of the province with the same name in Argentina. The club, founded in 1907, has a strong rivalry with Colón de Santa Fe....

, Belgrano de Córdoba

Belgrano de Córdoba

Club Atlético Belgrano is a sport club from Córdoba, Argentina, best known for its football team, promoted to the Argentine first division at the end of the 2010/2011 season. The football team is very popular and it has one of the largest fan bases outside Buenos Aires...

, Arsenal de Sarandí

Arsenal de Sarandí

Arsenal Fútbol Club, usually referred as Arsenal de Sarandí, is a football club from the Sarandí neighbourhood in the city of Avellaneda, Argentina, which was founded in 1957 by the Grondona brothers. Arsenal currently plays in the top tier of Argentine football, the Primera División Argentina....

 and Chacarita Juniors

Chacarita Juniors

Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors is an Argentine sports club from Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, which football squad is currently playing in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league system.The club was founded on May 1, 1906, in...

.

Football star and UNICEF goodwill ambassador George Weah

George Weah

George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian humanitarian and politician, and an ex-footballer. He ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting...

 teamed up with Mitre in 2004 to donate 5,000 footballs to underprivileged children in Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

 and 5,000 footballs to Iraqi children. Another endorsee joined Mitre in 2006, when Australian cricketer and record breaking test wicket-taker, Shane Warne

Shane Warne

Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...

, was signed to wear Mitre footwear and protection.

Then, in 2007, Mitre launched its new revolutionary Revolve football to the Football League, where each club played with its own club coloured and badged ball. This was the first time this had happened. Mitre also re-entered the apparel markets with kit deals with Ipswich Town and Huddersfield Town FC. In the year of 2008, Mitre signed All Black player Luke McAlister

Luke McAlister

Charles Luke McAlister is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays first five-eighths and second five-eighths ....

 to be the figurehead of its rugby range. The same year, the company signed an agreement with the El Salvador national football team

El Salvador national football team

El Salvador's national football team represents El Salvador in international football and is sanctioned by the Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol . In 1899, Santa Ana and San Salvador met for the first hosted football game in El Salvador...

 to be its exclusive uniform provider

In 2009 Mitre expanded its business in South America becaming the official uniform provider of many teams of the Chilean league

Chilean football league system

The Chilean football league system, called the Campeonatos Nacionales de Fútbol en Chile or Liga Chilena de Fútbol in Spanish, is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Chile....

. In June, 2011, Mitre extended its deal with the Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 to be the official ball supplier until 2015.

Products

The following chart contains all the product lines by Mitre.

Sport	Range of products
Football	Balls Football (ball) A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover... , goalkeeper gloves, shin guard Shin guard A shin guard or shin pad is a piece of equipment worn on the front of a player’s shin to protect them from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, cricket, and other sports... s, apparel, footwear Footwear Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations.... , bag Bag - Types of flexible containers :* Antistatic bag, used for shipping electronic components* Bag-In-Box* Bin bag, garbage bag, or trash bag* Book bag* Bulk bag, a name for a flexible intermediate bulk container* Burn bag* Diplomatic bag* Duffel bag... s, accesories
Netball	Balls, bags, accesories
Rugby	Balls, apparel, footwear, protective equipment, bags, accesories

Sponsorships

The following is a list with teams, associations and players that wear uniforms and equipment provided by Mitre:

Americas

Banfield

Club Atlético Banfield

Club Atlético Banfield is an Argentine sports club located in the city of Banfield, part of Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires province. Founded on 21 January 1896 by residents of the town of British origin , its main activity is football...

 Crucero del Norte Comisión de Actividades Infantiles Juventud Unida Universitario San Martín S.J. Textil Mandiyú

Textil Mandiyú

Club Deportivo Textil Mandiyú, commonly referred as Textil Mandiyú is an Argentine Football club. Its home town is Corrientes, in the Province of the same name in North East Argentina...

 Santiago Wanderers
Huachipato La Serena Ñublense

Ñublense

Deportivo Ñublense S.D.A.P is a professional football team based in Chillán, Ñuble Province. The club was formed in 1916 under the name of Liceo Fútbol Club...

 Curicó Unido Cobreloa

Cobreloa

Club de Deportes Cobreloa is a Chilean football club from the Atacama Desert mining city of Calama which has established itself as one of the country's most competitive clubs. The club was founded on January 7, 1977 and play in the Chilean top flight, the Primera División, where they have played...

 Coquimbo Unido

Coquimbo Unido

Coquimbo Unido, is a Chilean football club based in the city of Coquimbo. The club was founded August 15, 1957 and plays in the second division of the Chilean football league...

 Rangers de Talca Puerto Montt
C.D. O'Higgins Deportivo Cali

Deportivo Cali

Asociación Deportivo Cali is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, Colombia. Mostly known for its football team, it also sponsors basketball, volleyball and swimming...

 Deportes Tolima

Deportes Tolima

Deportes Tolima, is a Colombian football club based in the city of Ibagué. The club was founded December 18, 1954 and play their home games at the Manuel Murillo Toro stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.-Foundation:...

 Herediano

Club Sport Herediano

Club Sport Herediano is a football club based in Heredia, Costa Rica. The team plays in the Primera División and is one of the oldest in the country.-History:...

 Alianza Club Deportivo Plaza Amador San Francisco Futbol Club C.N.I

Colegio Nacional de Iquitos

Colegio Nacional Iquitos is a Peruvian football team based in the city of Iquitos which was founded in 1926. CNI is the biggest club in the city of Iquitos and currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División, which is the top flight of Peruvian football....

 Cerro

Asia

Mito HollyHock

Mito HollyHock

is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture....

 PSM Makassar

PSM Makassar

PSM, an acronym for Persatuan Sepakbola Makassar, is a football club that plays in the Liga Primer Indonesia. It was once considered as one of Indonesia's strongest football clubs, having won a title in 2000 and finishing runner-up three out of the past four seasons after that...

 Jakarta F.C.

Jakarta F.C.

Jakarta Football Club is an Indonesian football club based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. The team plays in Liga Primer Indonesia. 50 percent of the players who inhabit the squad Jakarta F.C. are members of the Air Force.-Team Officials:-Current squad:-External links:** at ligaprimerindonesia.co.id...

 Persebaya 1927

Persebaya 1927

Persebaya 1927 is a major Indonesian soccer team located in Surabaya, East Java. Persebaya generally play in the top league of Liga Indonesia, but in 2010–11 play in Liga Primer Indonesia ....

 Persiraja Banda Aceh

Persiraja Banda Aceh

Persiraja is an Indonesian football club based in Banda Aceh. They currently play in the Liga Indonesia Premier Division. Their home stadium is H. Dimurtala Stadium...

Tangerang Wolves

Tangerang Wolves F.C.

Tangerang Wolves Football Club is an Indonesian football club based in Tangerang, Banten. The team plays in Liga Primer Indonesia-Current squad:-External links:* at ligaprimerindonesia.co.id...

 Real Mataram

Real Mataram

Real Mataram Yogyakarta is a professional Indonesian football club based in Yogyakarta, D.I. Yogyakarta. The team plays in Liga Primer Indonesia. Currently in the mid-season, they found themselves in 16th in the league, below their early season target. A massive player reformation has been carried...

 Persijap Jepara

Persijap Jepara

Persijap, an acronym for Persatuan Sepak Bola Indonesia Jepara is an Indonesian football club based in Jepara, Central Java. In media, the tautology Persijap Jepara is often used.-History:...

Bogor Raya F.C.

Bogor Raya F.C.

Bogor Raya Football Club is an Indonesian football club based in Great Bogor , West Java. The team plays in Liga Primer Indonesia.-Team Officials:-Current squad:...

 Persib Bandung

Persib Bandung

Persib, an acronym for Persatuan Sepak Bola Indonesia Bandung is an Indonesian football club based in Bandung, West Java. In most of the media, a tautology Persib Bandung is often used...

  Hougang United F.C

Europe

SønderjyskE

SønderjyskE

SønderjyskE is a Danish sport club. They have two football teams , two handball teams and an ice hockey team based in Vojens. All the teams play in South Jutland...

 Glenn Hoddle Academy

Glenn Hoddle Academy

The Glenn Hoddle Academy was established in 2008, by former England international footballer Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle set the academy up in the memory of his brother, Carl, a former Tottenham Hotspur player who died aged 40....

Ipswich Town Veria FC

Oceania

Football Federation Victoria Queensland FA
Melbourne Knights

Melbourne Knights

Melbourne Knights Football Club is a football club representing Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Premier League . The club is one of the most successful football clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League...

 Canberra City SC

Canberra City SC

Canberra City Football Club, also known for some time as the Canberra Arrows, is an Australian football club based in Canberra in the ACT...

 Northern Tigers FC

Northern Tigers FC

Northern Tigers FC is a semi-professional football club, based in the Hornsby area of Sydney.The Northern Tigers enter teams in the NSW Men's Super League, FNSW Women's Super League and FNSW Subway Boy's Super Youth League....

Associations

Mitre provides its official balls for the following football associations:

Football League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 Football League Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy

The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

 Football Conference

Football Conference

The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

Football Federation

Lithuanian Football Federation

The Lithuanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Lithuania. The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams, including the Lithuania national football team. It is based in Vilnius. LFF became a member of FIFA in 1923, but...

 Russian Cup Football Federation

San Marino Football Federation

The San Marino Football Federation is the governing body of football in San Marino. It organises the San Marino football league , a national cup , a super cup and the San Marino national football team...

Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 Football Association

Football Association of Wales

The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football in Wales. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.Established in 1876 , it is the third-oldest national association in the world, and is one of the four associations The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is the...

 Soccer Comp xD Liga Panameña de Futbol

Players

Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...

 Andrew Plummer Nick Jordan Nick Jupp
Tom Smith Liam O’Brien Andrey Bukhlitskiy

Andrey Bukhlitskiy

Andrey Nikolayevich Bukhlitsky is a Russian beach soccer player who represents Russia in international competitions. His role is goalkeeper....

Chad Harpur

Chad Harpur

Chad Harpur is a South African professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.-Career:Harpur has played in England, South Africa, and Scotland for Chelsea, Leeds United, Millwall, Manning Rangers, Basingstoke Town, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Ajax Cape Town and Black Aces.-References:...

 Ian Joyce

Ian Joyce

Ian Joyce is an American soccer player who plays for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids. He is eligible to play in countries within the European Union as he holds an Italian passport.-Football career:...

Associations

Mitre provides its official balls for the following netball national teams: South Africa

South Africa national netball team

The South Africa national netball team, nicknamed the "Proteas", are the national netball team of South Africa. The Proteas are coached by former representative player Elize Kotze. The team are governed by Netball South Africa and sponsored by...

 England

England national netball team

The England national netball team represent England in international netball competition. The team are presently co-captained by Karen Atkinson and Sonia Mkoloma, and were coached by Australian Sue Hawkins through to the end of the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore...

Associations

Mitre provides its official balls for the following rugby union federations: Italian Rugby Federation

Players

Aaron Liffchak

Aaron Liffchak

Aaron Liffchak , London is a rugby union footballer who plays at prop for London Welsh. He has also represented England Students and played for England at Under 18 and Under 16 levels.-Early life:...

 Peter Bracken

Peter Bracken

Peter Bracken is a professional rugby union prop.In his formative rugby years he played for Tullamore RFC and also at St. Andrew's College, Dublin where he attended on Scholarship....

 Luke McAlister

Luke McAlister

Charles Luke McAlister is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays first five-eighths and second five-eighths ....

Albert Van den Berg

Albert van den Berg

Albert van den Berg is a South African rugby union rugby player. In 2010, he signed to play in Japan's Top League for Canon Eagles. His usual position is at lock. He played for the Sharks in the international Super 14 competition...

 Johann Muller
Richard Mustoe

Richard Mustoe

Richard Mustoe is a Welsh rugby union footballer . A winger, he played for Bridgend, Celtic Warriors and Ospreys before joining the Cardiff Blues in 2008. In July 2007 he joined Newport Gwent Dragons on a one season loan, During this loan Mustoe made 20 appearances and scored 15 points for the...

 Nick Macleod

Nick Macleod

Nick Macleod is a rugby union player for Sale Sharks, whom he joined from Cardiff Blues in 2008. Macleod plays at Fullback or Outside Half....