The England team will be unmistakable when international competitions resume, thanks to their striking new kit supplied by our Official Clothing Supplier, Butterfly.
Featuring the cross of St George incorporated into a graduated design on both the red ‘home’ and black ‘away’ shirts, as well as the match tracksuits, the kit ensures the Leopards will turn heads wherever they go.
The kit was intended to be worn in competition for the first time at the World Championships in the spring, before the coronavirus pandemic intervened.
With elite training having resumed in anticipation of a return to tournament play in the coming months, it is now being issued to the players.
Butterfly will also supply kit to the England Junior, Aspire and Hopes squads, as well as Table Tennis England staff.
It is the latest in a series of bespoke kits supplied by Butterfly since 2015. As well as the cross of St George, the senior design also features the England Table Tennis Team logo designed around the traditional three leopards badge, as well as the logos of Butterfly and Tees Sport, the Butterfly partner for specialist equipment in the British Isles.
The kit is available to buy now – without the official leopards logo – on the Tees Sport website.
Click here to visit our shop, where you can browse England kit and other products.
Hiroshi Kimura of Butterfly Europe said: “We are delighted to have co-operated closely with Table Tennis England to produce a unique set of clothing for the coming season for the England team.
“The design is really unique and will stand out as very special when they participate in international competitions.
“We have used the latest material to provide the best and most comfortable playing kit for the players.
“We are very pleased to co-operate with Tees Sport working with Table Tennis England for the stock holding and supply to the England players with kit on a regular basis throughout the next two years.”
Table Tennis England Director of Sport Simon Mills said: “We are delighted to have worked with Butterfly to create a unique design for the Leopards and I am excited to see our players and staff wearing it in competition for the first time.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the design and production of the new playing kit that I hope people will be proud to wear. Covid has delayed our opportunity to showcase this but it won’t dampen our enthusiasm for it.”
England No 1 Liam Pitchford was delighted to receive his new kit, which he showed off alongside some of the young athletes in the England performance pathway.
Liam said: “It’s a nice kit. It’s unique to us as a team and it’s important to have that and to feel special when you pull on an England shirt. I particularly like the flag going across the shirt, I think that’s a nice addition.”
Also among the first athletes to receive their kit were England’s top two women, Tin-Tin Ho and Maria Tsaptsinos, who took part in a socially distant photoshoot alongside Paul Drinkhall to show off the new designs.
Tin-Tin said: “I think it’s cool, it’s comfortable and you can recognise us as England because of the cross. It looks really modern.”
Maria added: “We all love wearing a bespoke kit and we’ll really stand out from the crowd in this!”
The kit is made from Micro Dry Fit material, which was developed especially to keep the skin dry during sport.
The interwoven twin-component material is made from 100% polyester and consists of two different surface materials. The inner lining absorbs moisture and transports it towards the outer material. The outer material is breathable and flexible, making it easy to wear and soft to touch.
All shirts, T-shirts and tracksuits use sublimation printing to ensure all logos, text and also the unique design of cross and colour gradation can keep their shape as it is, even after washing many times.