LONDON- England Hockey unveiled its new Three Lions logo and announces a five year kit partnership with Adidas ahead of the men’s squad’s departure to Australia for the ABN AMRO Champions Trophy.

The announcement continues the journey for hockey as a national sport on its way once more to a greater world ranking and Olympic success. Core values of ‘Passion’, ‘Speed’ and ‘Respect’ underpin the evolution of the new identity while the Three Lions logo gives England a national emblem of pride – bringing hockey into line with football and cricket and other top tier national sports.

As the sport rides high on recent European success, this new identity aims to bring with it a greater awareness for hockey nationwide. The strong branding and Three Lions logo provides an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the sport to engage once more with hockey players and fans, increasing participation and spectator numbers.

Speed, technical ability and skill are central to this fast paced tactical game and respect for all on the field is crucial to a game rooted in history. England squad members are the ‘Hockey Heroes’ who embody these attributes.

Men’s team captain, Barry Middleton: “The new adidas kit is a positive step forward for the England hockey team. It provides us with a smart image featuring the proud Three Lions which sums up our team approach. We are a passionate, dynamic force which aims to inspire respect from our opponents. Passion, speed and respect symbolise our approach to training and every game we play.”

Women’s team captain, Kate Walsh: “The new team kit gives us a very professional look and if we look and feel good, this should have a very positive impact on our game overall. We now train together three times a week, so we are more like professional football players, without the wages! Since the last Olympics we have recruited a number of young up and coming players and I expect as a result we will be playing some very exciting hockey and winning more medals in the future.”

Kalle Melin, Managing Director of Specialist Sports Shoes Ltd, adidas’s hockey distributor in the UK: “We are proud to enter into a new five year partnership with the England Hockey Board to supply all the England and Great Britain teams and the Performance staff with technical teamwear products for training and competition. We hope that this will enable each player to perform at their very best when wearing an England shirt. The partnership encompasses the Great Britain squad who have used adidas kit at the Olympic Games for more than 20 years and the players are used to the superior technical performance of the adidas products. The partnership with England will also be important for the future development of the adidas hockey ranges. The company has always worked closely with athletes and players to develop the best technical products available for the sport.”

England Hockey Board (EHB) Commercial Director Mark Armitage explains the thinking behind the new identity: “Taking another important step in the transformation of the sport of hockey in England, our aim is to bring this fast, entertaining and highly skilled sport, which is compelling to both play and watch, to a much bigger audience and ultimately attract more fans, sponsors and media coverage whilst also engaging our current participants, fans, and volunteers.

“This will build on the excellent foundation work being done within and across hockey in England to engage young people, identify talent, develop player pathways, coach athletes, develop elite performance and of course complement the on-pitch performance which resulted in gold for our men and bronze for our women at the European Championships in 2009. This is the first of a number of initiatives that will see hockey being actively marketed and re-established on the sporting agenda within this country. The EHB is embarking on something special and there is still a massive opportunity for a headline sponsorship partner to be part of this journey.”

As it drives forward the sport’s transformation, The EHB is investing in a new sport-focused website www.passionspeedrespect.com, filming England Hockey League Premier Division games for screening on its online TV channel “EHTV” and updating and upgrading the hockey magazine Hockey News.

Hockey is the premier Olympic team sport and members of the England Hockey squad will be hoping to play their part in the GB team as they build towards their 2012 medal winning objectives.

        

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