Football Manager release Hummel kit for FM21

Football Manager is a way of life, and that life is getting a little bit more interesting this year.

Ahead of the launch of the latest iteration of their epic series, Football Manager have released a shirt in collaboration with hummel. We were excited enough to see the full design following some early teasers, but the FM team surprised us by sending our own bespoke version of the kit.

There’s a lot to like.

If you’ve read our overview of hummel this season (read it here), or many of the other pieces I’ve written over the months, you’ll know I’m a hummel fanboy. We all have our favourite manufacturers, and for various reasons hummel are my go to brand when it comes to football kits. Naturally I approve of Football Manager’s choice for starters, and the design justifies that choice in my opinion.

New season, new colours 😍#WallpaperWednesday pic.twitter.com/cOau4tA5DY

— Football Manager (@FootballManager) September 30, 2020

As a series, Football Manager has undergone something of a facelift the past couple of years. Iconic staples like ‘Manager Man’ (who had appeared on the cover of ever FM game since 2005) were replaced in favour of a collective of players, and a fresh purple and luminous yellow colour scheme has now been introduced for the FM brand.

Big love to the @FootballManager team for sending one of their new @hummel1923 shirts. 🥰🥰 pic.twitter.com/z7ow4Aizlj

— Phil Delves (@phildelves) November 6, 2020

This colourway is very much the star of the shirt show here, and I love the tempered use of the luminous yellow as a couple of lines on each of the cuffs. Interest on the body of the shirt is generated by a lovely purple pattern, and the design makes great use of gradients to give the effect of someone almost shining a light on the look.

Whether intentional or not, the colour and design choices give me the vibe of an evening game played under the floodlights, and this would definitely be a kit suited to a tricky away tie in a European competition. Edgy promotional pictures of the shirt only enhance the aesthetic. 

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The various logos on the shirt, including the hummel logo, multiple charities (occupying the front and sleeve sponsor positions of the shirt) and the FM logo are all neatly added in white, and though the applications are sublimated this takes very little away from the kit. I’d always prefer textured applications given the choice, but sublimation is a viable route and hummel are as good as anyone at getting it done (see the Forward Madison shirt here).

We've seen a number of similar types of shirts for series like FIFA, but this new offering from Football Manager is as good, if not better, than its competition. The design is a fantastic addition to the FM universe, and I only hope this becomes something of a regular feature in the seasons to come.

If you like the look of this shirt, then why not browse our modern classics collection. See the full collection of shirts from the Concept Club and Killa Villa here.