Table Tennis England have signed a new four-year agreement with their Official Clothing Supplier, Butterfly.
The deal will see the manufacturer continue to supply bespoke kit for the England Leopards squad, who will compete wearing the new designs for the first time at the ITTF Team World Cup in London later this month.
There are red and black ‘home and away’ versions of the kit, which also features a new 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.
Butterfly was keen to extend its relationship with the England team in the wake of the men’s squad winning bronze medals at the World Team Championships in Malaysia in 2016.
Taisei Imamura, President of Tamasu Butterfly Europe, said:
We are delighted to continue our long-standing support for Table Tennis England and the English team. The new kit that we are supplying takes advantage of the latest materials which are the most comfortable to play in and wear.
I wish England every success in the Team World Cup and the other important competitions coming up in the near future.
Table Tennis England Chief Executive Sara Sutcliffe said:
We are proud to have extended our relationship with Butterfly and hope our players can continue to deliver world-class performances while wearing a world-class brand.
We are particularly pleased that our men’s and women’s squads will wear the new kit designs for the first time at the Team World Cup – I’m sure the home crowds at the Copper Box will really get behind them.
As well as the senior squad wearing Butterfly livery, the company will also supply kit to the England Youth Squad and National Centre for Excellence, as well as Table Tennis England staff.
Head of Talent & Performance, Simon Mills, said:
We are continuing to forge a high-quality partnership with Butterfly and I’m delighted they will continue to supply bespoke designs to the England team, as well as having expanded their support to include the lower tiers of our pathway.
Since 2015, Butterfly has provided bespoke kit to the England squad. Before that, England wore the same generic kit worn by several other nations, with minimal England branding.
England No 2 Liam Pitchford, part of the World team Championships bronze medal-winning line-up, said the squad appreciated wearing their own unique kit. He said:
It always feels great to pull on an England shirt and represent your country, but it’s felt even more special since we’ve had our own designs.
Alan Ransome, Managing Director of Tees Sport, said:
We are also delighted to join Butterfly in supporting the England team and making the replica kit using the same materials available to Table Tennis England members.
The new kit will be on sale at the Tees Sport stand at the Team World Cup at the Copper Box, on our website http://www.teessport.com/ and from our shop from the launch date of 25 February.