Admiral is the same brand that provided team wear in the 1970’s and 1980’s for the England football teams, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Southampton and Leeds in the English Premier League. Admiral was also the market leader in the United States on the shirts of the Los Angeles Aztecs, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Vancouver Whitecaps. Players who have worn Admiral include soccer legends Pele, Beckenbauer and Cruyff while they played for the New York Cosmos. Today the brand is also worn by the 2011 North American Soccer League (NASL) Champions Minnesota Stars with a number of additional NASL and USL clubs ready to announce that they are partnering with Admiral for next season.
“We’re delighted to be launching Admiral with our first MISL team, the Norfolk Sharx." says Paul Hamburger, President and CEO of Admiral Soccer. “Admiral is totally focused on supporting the needs of community soccer teams throughout the United States. We’re really looking forward to working with the Sharx players, fans and the local Norfolk community. The goal is to outfit all of the MISL in the original soccer jersey, and the Sharx is where it all begins,” says Hamburger.”
The Norfolk Sharx is a Major Indoor Soccer team playing their first season in the MISL. SharX president and general manager, Marcie Laumann runs the one of the oldest sports franchise in the United Soccer Leagues with their W League and PDL teams – the Virginia Beach Piranhas.
“The Admiral kit speaks for itself,” said Laumann. “When we were looking at which kit brand we wanted to play in, I spoke with members of the team and our head coach Jon Hall he said he played in Admiral as a pro in the USL and thought the quality was great.”
Laumann was 2001 and 2007 United Soccer League’s W-League Executive of the Year and in 2004 was inducted into the USL’s Hall of Fame.
“What made the decision simple for us was Admiral’s focus on community soccer. We wanted to work with people who understand our priorities and what’s important to us and Admiral just gets it,” said Laumann.
Admiral has been working with community soccer clubs across the United States and Canada for more than 20 years. A key component to the success of the brand has been the development of very strong partnerships with soccer clubs and key soccer specialists throughout North America. At the core of our business is the Admiral brand but we also offer the Sondico for goalkeepers, Patrick footwear and Select balls in Canada. Our focus is on delivering a quality product for players on the field.
“We believe that soccer in North America is a grass roots community sport, and as such we have set up our business to support local teams and communities,” said Hamburger. “We support a number of charities directly and through the clubs we partner with. We're delighted to offer our support to the Norfolk Sharx charitable foundation in recognition of the great work that they do for the American Diabetes Association and the Alzheimer’s Association.”
The Sharx will unveil their new Admiral kits to fans and media on Tuesday, November 8, at 2 p.m. at the Norfolk Downtown, Crowne Plaza, 700 Monticello Avenue. Their first game of the season is November 11 at 7 p.m. against Syracuse Silver Knights at the Norfolk Scope Arena. Admiral is available online at http://www.admiralsoccer.com/
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