Our special Umbro Tee Shop collaboration with Tinchy Stryder has been getting plenty of attention since we revealed it last week, but just how did this special connection come about? While we were finalising the design earlier this week, we spoke to Tinchy about the tee, the song and his admiration of Mario, despite being a Manchester United fan! Here’s what he had to say:

So how did the song Why Always Me come about?

‘Slix, one of the members of Ruff Sqwad reached out to me and said he had this song Why Always Me that would be good for the EP we were working on. So he sent it over and I really liked it. Why Always Me is something that anyone can relate to whether it’s positive or negative, so I got involved and people seem to really like it.

When the track got sent over, the hook really stood out, and it got me thinking. At the time I was supposed to be going into the Celebrity Big Brother house, so my verse is a lot around that and how I was feeling about that. Something about the whole Mario Balotelli character appealed to me in that way.’

What is it that you like about Mario Balotelli?

‘I like everything about him, his whole character. For example, when I first met him I said, “why do you never smile when you score goals?” and he said: “I’m a striker, that’s just what I do. You’re a performer, so that’s what you go out and do.” That’s a good way of looking at it, he’s just doing his thing, he’s not putting it on, he’s just naturally like that. I think people can relate to him, he’s got a good heart and he’s strong to his beliefs. That’s the thing that I think the world of football needed, we haven’t had a character like that in England for a long time. And to go along with all of that, he’s also a good footballer, which helps!’

That must be difficult for you to say, as a Manchester United fan?

‘Yeah, that’s the hard part! But I just love football. I am a United fan, so I know people are going to be thinking “Tinch supports Man U, he’s done a track with Ruff Sqwad that’s all about Mario Balotelli, that doesn’t add up.” But, I like him as a person, and it was the ‘Why Always Me’ moment that grabbed me. If you’re a football fan and you know football, you’ll know he’s a good player.’

So ideally, Mario will be the top scorer in the league but United will win it?

‘That’s the dream world, yeah. Mario can be top scorer but United win the league, I’ll take that.’

Why did you decide to create the tee shirt with Umbro?

‘I guess the whole situation is that, music is my first thing in life, but I’ve always been interested in the business world as well. So when the Mario Balotelli track came up, we knew that it’d be good to come together with Umbro and design the tee based on the Why Always Me design. We related it to me, to him and to the whole situation really. It’s all for good reasons, so it’s all positive.’

What did you think of the designs?

‘The designs have been really cool man, when I explain something and then someone can capture what you’re thinking and put it onto a tee shirt, that’s great. It doesn’t look like it’s representing any one thing either, anyone can wear this shirt, but there’s little things in there like the music notes for me. It’s a great collaboration that represents me, Mario and Umbro all linked into one.’

I hear that you’re quite a decent footballer, who would you compare yourself to?

‘Yeah, I was good at football, and then I guess music just became a bit more important for me. If I was going to suggest a player I always liked or hoped I played like, I’d say Ronaldo – the older, Brazilian one – or maybe Aguero, another City player! I was quite quick, good on the ball and I scored goals, so maybe Romario as well.’

You were born in Ghana but grew up in England, so who do you support?

‘I went to that game against England, and I was supporting Ghana, that was a great game. It felt like a win for Ghana even though it was 1-1. If they’re not playing against each other, then I’ll be supporting England. I was born in Ghana, so that’s where my heart is.’

What else have you got planned for this year in terms of music?

‘After this EP, I’ve been working on loads of different things. I’ve got a single out with Pixie Lott called Bright Lights, and then I’m launching my own label Cloud 9. With music I never like to plan too far in advance, so things come up all the time. I know this year is going to be really exciting for me though.’

You’ve met Jay-Z a couple of times, do you think he’d enjoy watching a game of football?

‘Yeah, it’s different because he likes basketball, but I reckon he’d like football. He’s a really cool guy, really laid back. If he wanted to come over I’d take him to Old Trafford for a game. I’m not sure if he’d want a pie and chips though!’

Thanks to Tinchy for taking the time to speak to us. The special Why Always Me tee shirt is available exclusively from the Umbro Tee Shop now. Ruff Sqwad’s EP is out on January 24th, here’s the video of the track Why Always Me:

We’ve already shown you the tee shirt that Umbro and Tinchy Stryder have created, but here’s a great video that shows the moment when Tinchy arrived at our Dale Street studio to finalise the design along with Mario Balotelli.

In the video, Tinchy talks about how he came to write the song ‘Why Always Me’ with Ruff Sqwad, why he wanted to create a tee shirt with us and why he’s a fan of Mario – despite being a Manchester United fan!

The tee shirt is on sale now, exclusively at the Umbro Tee Shop

The Umbro Tee Shop is starting 2012 in style thanks to a collaboration with one of the UK’s hottest rappers, Tinchy Stryder. We’ve worked with the Ruff Sqwad’s main man to create this fantastic tee shirt, and it’s even impressed the man behind the original Why Always Me – Mario Balotelli!

The idea came about after Tinchy and Ruff Sqwad wrote a song for their new EP called ‘Why Always Me?’ – even though Tinchy is a Manchester United fan! He got in touch with us about our Why Always Me tee, and from there we’ve created this new incarnation, which features elements of Tinchy’s own life and some nods to Manchester City’s Italian striker. Working with Tinchy Stryder and Jada Styles, the Umbro Tee Shop is the only place you can get hold of this fantastic new tee shirt – head over there now to see it in more detail. All of Umbro’s profits from this tee will be donated to a charity of Mr. Balotelli’s choosing.

We’ll have more on this fantastic collaboration soon, including an interview with Tinchy and some fantastic video clips from the day

So which is your favourite? The 12 Tees Of Christmas is complete today, with 12 great designs available to buy from the Umbro Tee Shop. We’re ending with a classic as well, with our Football Stars design returning in a cool new white tee. Turning constellations into formations is no easy task, but we’ve managed it with this cracker of a tee shirt.

This design sold faster than the hottest of hot cakes first time around, so we’re sure this new creation is going to be just as popular. It’s on sale now at the Umbro Tee Shop, along with all the other designs we’ve created to celebrate our first birthday. Head over there now to take a look – we’ll still be able to get these to you before Christmas, so it’s the perfect idea for a last minute present!

We’re nearly at the end of our 12 Tees Of Christmas celebrations, and we’ve saved possibly the best til today! This terrific graphic is inspired by the goals scored in Manchester City’s 6-1 win against their city neighbours. It’s been created by Liam Ferry, the inspired-mind behind On Goals Scored. Check out some of the other brilliant infographics on his site, it’s a great way of wasting a couple of hours at work!

The Six One tee is on sale now at the Umbro Tee Shop, and we’re sure it’ll be popular with City fans. Some supporters of other clubs might even be impressed as well! Take a look at the Umbro Tee Shop now for a closer look at this tee and the other designs included in the 12 Tees Of Christmas…

With the third round of the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser approaching fast, today’s design from the 12 Tees Of Christmas is perfectly timed. We all know what we’re looking for from the FA Cup at this point: lower league team vs big hitters, small ground, fans getting behind their team, wintery conditions, it all adds up to one thing – a giant killing!

We’ve been inspired by some classic horror film posters to create this fantastic tee design, which is available from today at the Umbro Tee Shop. It’s another highlight from our terrific 12 Tees Of Christmas celebration, and with just two designs left to be revealed, you’ll soon be spoilt for choice!

You can still receive orders from the Tee Shop before Christmas if you’re in the UK or Europe. So if you’re looking for a last minute present, take a look at the whole collection over at UmbroTeeShop.com.

As they say over in the US: “Happy Holidays Everyone!” To celebrate the time of seasonal cheer, we’ve got a brand new Spot The Ball competition for you all. We’ve dug this fantastic wintery scene up from the archives (it’s a classic wartime England vs Scotland game we think), and removed one very important element – the ball! Tell us where it was before we made it disappear, and you could be the recipient of a very special prize – all 12 of the special ’12 Tees Of Christmas’ that we’ve created for the Umbro Tee Shop.

These limited edition tees are all pretty special, so imagine if you got the whole bundle in one? That’s enough to keep you looking good for almost two weeks straight! All you’ve got to do to win them is head over to the Spot The Ball page and tell us where you think the ball was before we made it vanish. We’re going to leave this running throughout the Christmas period, so you can take a guess whenever you get a break from the turkey and mince pies, and we’ll pick a winner when we return in 2012. If you don’t win, you can still grab some of those top designs over at the Umbro Tee Shop. Good luck – just click on the picture at the top to enter!

One of our favourites makes a comeback in the Umbro Tee Shop today, with the 9th day of our 12 Tees Of Christmas celebrations. Back in black after it sold out super fast earlier this year, the Football Haircuts design brings together some of the most memorable haircuts ever spotted on footballers – often, they’re memorable for the wrong reasons!

This tee is on sale now at the Umbro Tee Shop, while there’s still some of our previous 12 Tees Of Christmas available. We’ve got three more designs to reveal this week as well, so keep your eyes peeled for the final trio of top tees you can try out….

We’re into the final week of our 12 Tees Of Christmas celebration, and it’s fair to say that a few of you will be getting one of our designs as a Christmas present – or you’ve just bought one as a present to yourself! If you haven’t got involved yet, you’ve still got plenty of time to do so, and we’ve got some cracking designs lined up for this week.

We’re starting with another classic design from the Tee Shop back catalogue, in a sharp light blue colour – In This Game, You Need Both. We all know that you need heart in football, but what else do you need? This cheeky tee design suggests something else you might need if you want to get ahead on the pitch. It’s on sale now at the Umbro Tee Shop, and available to be shipped anywhere in the world!

Every time we’ve released the Offside tee before it’s been a best seller, and we’re sure that this cool new light blue edition is going to be no different. Available now from the Umbro Tee Shop as part of our 12 Tees Of Christmas celebration, you can grab one and prove to all your friends and family that you know what the rules are!