Next year’s Cup will be set in Africa for the first time, giving soccer marketers a venue to showcase themselves prominently on that continent. Based on the looks of the Umbro website, the company already rules one part of Europe: England.

It makes sense since Umbro was founded in England in 1910. When it started, though, it was known as Humphreys Brothers Clothing. But in I924, the company combined its names to become Umbro. Even though Umbro was bought by American sports-apparel giant Nike reportedly for about $580 million in 2007, it appears very committed to remaining a symbol of England.

Umbro’s website boasts that it provides the clothing for the England men’s national team and the English Premier League’s Manchester City Football Club, among many other British teams. And the site has a rolling pop soundtrack from two Manchester bands, Ten Bears and Kid British, which gives the site a kind of raw energy and distinctly English feel.

Also, the site provides far more opportunities to interact with the brand than just tapping your toes to tunes: It offers Flickr, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter feeds, an Umbro-related blog, a customizable soccer shoe, and newsletter subscriptions. The site exudes a positive vibe with short, upbeat copy and vibrant, active images – all while giving visitors the lowdown on where to buy gear.

One of the best parts of the site resides in the Changing Room area. “The Shirts That Made Us Laugh and Cry” is a rolling slide show of some of the most outrageous jerseys the company has made since it started making them in 1924. It’s nice to know a company can laugh at itself. Unfortunately, the site only features jerseys from fairly recent years. You have to believe there were some doozies back in the 1930s and 1940s. The site also does a good job restraining itself in its Products area. The company churns out hundreds of products annually but only offers a few on its site: It’s not a shocker that the England national team and Manchester City kits are front and center on the Products page.

Any way you slice it, the Umbro site pops with a wide variety of content choices. On the front page, once you scroll down, there are many options to choose from, and the colorful boxes give the site an airy and fun feel that runs throughout. To most players of the game of soccer, there is a fast-paced rhythm to the game. Umbro effectively extends that feeling to its site.