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The kit, made from a 20% cotton-80% polyester mix fabric, is being promoted to consumers as ‘Tailored by England' and is intended to appeal to all fans of the national side, not just the hardcore who follow the team everywhere, rain or shine.

‘We are trying to redefine what replica kit means,' says Parkinson. ‘There are 208 different ethnic groups in England and we wanted to show that it was as much theirs as anyone else's.' Incidentally, he made a gallant attempt to feature someone from every one of those ethnic groups in Umbro's marketing campaign, which includes a photographic exhibition at National Geographic's flagship store on London's Regent Street. Ultimately, though, he fell just short, with 196 representatives.

The sportswear and equipment company's strategy is a bold one, and, despite his confidence in the new brand direction, Parkinson, 46, is realistic enough to admit that it will probably not be to everyone's taste - at least, not at first.

‘It's a little bit "Marmite",' he jokes. ‘You throw a rock in a pond and the waves hit both shores. People say it doesn't look like a football kit. But then, what is a football kit?' Indeed, depending on its success the latest design could be rolled out to Umbro's other football partners, including Premiership club Everton.

The inclusiveness of the England kit campaign reaches beyond these shores. One execution features a punk band from Beijing and a cricket team from Compton, Los Angeles. ‘We wanted to show where Englishness has been co-opted around the world', explains Parkinson.

Other ads feature ex-players from overseas who have had a major impact on English football and have been influenced themselves by English culture. ‘[Former Manchester United goalkeeper] Peter Schmeichel's son Kasper has grown up in England and now plays in the Premiership. There's even a dog in Coronation Street called Schmeichel. We also feature Paolo Di Canio [formerly of Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton, among other clubs], who knows cockney rhyming slang.'

The England kit-supplier deal is the jewel in the crown for Umbro and, as such, the team's qualification for major tournaments has always played an extremely - perhaps dangerously - important role in the company's fortunes. While Parkinson accepts that no one will ever be able to completely iron out the peaks and troughs that replica-kit brands inevitably must ride, he hopes that the England shirt will become a ‘cultural icon', to be worn as much as a lifestyle brand as a replica kit.

Parkinson oversaw the opening of a concept store in London where the kit was revealed ahead of it going on sale on the day England played Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier (1 April). At the store, which was open for two weeks, people could pre-order the kit. The retail space also made the link between football, tailoring and fashion - Charlie Allen, a tailor, ran live workshops in the store, demonstrating the craft and detail that goes into making a tailored garment. The company also opened other concept stores in New York and Tokyo in an attempt to capitalise on what Parkinson sees as the global affection for English football.

While qualification for tournaments remains important to Umbro, the brand's ownership by Nike, which bought the company for £285m in 2007, gives it something of a safety net.

‘Nike is a fantastic resource. It wanted to recharge and re-energise this brand', says Parkinson. ‘We're smashing together style and performance. It will take time to shift perception. And we've not lost any of the performance attributes'.

With England sitting pretty atop its 2010 World Cup qualifying group, like most England fans, Parkinson has every faith that the team will be appearing in the finals in South Africa in a little over a year's time. When it comes to his club allegiance, however, Parkinson has a far gloomier outlook - one he seems to share with most other Manchester City fans.
Despite the club's takeover by billionaire owners from Abu Dhabi last summer, years of underachievement have left him a sceptic. ‘When it comes to City, it's not the disappointment - it's the hope you can't stand,' he says, only half in jest. Despite such pessimism, he renews his season ticket without question year after year, and gives the impression that he always will.

As big a role as sport has played - and continues to play - in Parkinson's life, it is matched by his love of travel. After years spent building his career overseas, Parkinson is happy to have found himself living back home in Manchester.

A 15-year advertising career, including spells at Ogilvy, BBDO and Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, where he worked on several major campaigns for Nike, took him around Europe and beyond. While at Wieden & Kennedy, he was approached
by Nike and relocated to the US company's headquarters in Oregon to lead its Asia-Pacific region's advertising and digital output, where he built China into Nike's second-biggest global market. He then assumed responsibility for Nike Southeast Asia.

At various points his career has also led him to work in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, but perhaps the most formative period was six years spent in Hong Kong, where he learned to speak Cantonese fluently. However, Parkinson modestly confesses that he can still neither read
nor write the language.

Umbro's England campaign, which spans online, press, experiential, PR and outdoor work, is arguably the most important marketing drive in its history and it could hardly wish for a marketer with more relevant experience.

However, the company has little reason to worry that he could be tempted down the road to Old Trafford to follow in the footsteps of former Umbro chief executive Peter Kenyon, who famously made the switch to Manchester United in 1997, but is now chief executive of Chelsea FC.

When asked why he chose the lifelong burden of supporting the light-blue half of the city, Parkinson's response is as candid as it is deadpan: ‘I was born in Manchester.'