One Size Fits All – The Business of Replica Football Shirts
Replica football shirts are big business these days. In the 2018/2019 season, Real Madrid and Manchester United both sold over 3 million replica shirts. Popular with adults and children alike, these shirts represent a big earner for football clubs, and that season saw the cost reach new levels.
The 2018/2019 season was the first time that the average price of a replica football kit topped £100. Football is already an expensive sport to follow, especially when it involves taking the kids along too, and football shirts have caused some consternation over the years.
There have been many complaints that clubs change their home kit too often or introduce unnecessary extra away kits just to try and extract more money from parents and fans. However, sometimes change is necessary due to kit suppliers changing, new sponsors, and new materials being introduced.
How have replica football shirts changed over the years?
Back in the 1800’s shirts were more like jerseys and were made from close-fitting knitted fabric. They were heavy and perfect for cold, miserable nights in England. One interesting aspect about football shirts then was that the clubs’ colours weren’t registered.
It wasn’t until Wolves entertained Sunderland at home in 1890 that a decision was made to force all clubs to register their colours. The reason being that both clubs took to the field in matching football shirts.
Materials for shirts continued to be cotton and wool as clubs headed into the 20th century, and goalkeepers were forced to wear different colours so fans and referees could tell them apart from the rest of the players.
Numbers were added to the back of shirts after the second World War, and as the decades rolled by, sponsors arrived and more money poured in. Materials changed to nylon and polyester to make a more lightweight shirt, and replica shirts became big business.
What about the styles and materials?
The style of football shirts seems to be ever-changing and clubs sometimes adopt retro-looking designs to relate to their past. Looking at photos of Port Vale in the 1970s and you will see a style of shirt that is returning now. A simple plain design is used as often as garish colours and fades. Tottenham Hotspur’s new shirt for next season is a very plain white shirt with no frills. One thing that has changed over the years is that shirts are generally short-sleeved, except the keepers, whereas in the past, long sleeves were favoured.
Many football shirts nowadays are tight-fitting and highly engineered. While shirts may look simple, the manufacturers and designers put a lot of thought into them. Wicking fabrics are used to keep moisture away from the player’s body and this makes the shirt more comfortable over a long period.
In the past when natural fabrics were used, sweat would be absorbed by the shirt and the player would be uncomfortable and hot. Modern polyester meshes mean that players stay cool in hot weather.
How much do clubs make on football shirts?
Where fans are often unhappy with the cost of shirts and the ever-rotating line of new home and away kits arriving in the club shop, their anger may be misdirected.
Clubs, even the biggest ones, only make around 7-15% on each sale. This doesn’t mean that clubs don’t see the benefit though and there have been inquiries into price-fixing of replica shirts. Back in 2003 Manchester United, JD Sports, and kit manufacturer Umbro, were hit with a series of fines totalling more than £ 18 million
The reason for this is that the shirts are essentially part of a licensing deal where the manufacturer takes the bulk of the revenue and the club makes a commission for the use of their property. Before you feel too sorry, for the big clubs at least, consider Manchester United’s current kit deal.
Adidas agreed to pay the Manchester club a whopping £750 million over ten years. Why would they agree to that? Because their sales projections are £1.5 billion for that same period. Now, think how many shirts Port Vale would have sold if they hadn’t turned down Jaap Stam.
The rise of the fake football shirts
When you consider the price of a genuine replica shirt it is perhaps not surprising that there are fake shirts around. Markets and websites in the UK have been known to sell fakes and trading standards officers have shut down a number of traders.
A visit to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia or any other country in South East Asia will let you see just how big the replica shirt market is. Perhaps it is not surprising when you consider that many of the genuine shirts are made in this region and therefore it is easy to get hold of shirts to copy.
Thailand in particular is renowned for copying all sorts of items. CDs, DVDs, video games, designer clothing, driving licences, diplomas, and even Covid vaccination cards, are all copied in the Land of Smiles.
Football is hugely popular in this region and the average salary there would not allow many to be able to afford to buy genuine football shirts. Consider the average hotel worker in Laos who is on less than £5 a day. How would they afford a £100 kit? The next best option, buy a fake one. And the quality can be surprisingly good sometimes. This can make it difficult to tell a real shirt from a fake and it is a problem when buying on the internet from sites such as eBay.
How do you tell if your shirt is genuine?
A truly well-made fake club shirt could be very hard to tell. It is usually small details that give the shirt away but sometimes they are very obvious too. Checking the tags can help.
Football shirts normally have hang tags attached to the collar or neck. Companies such as the Dutch Label Shop manufacture professional, custom tags for football shirts and other items of clothing. Their tags will have everything spelled correctly whereas a fake may have words misspelt due to poor translation.
Badges are sometimes printed instead of sewn on to save money. The printing may be of poor quality, and the material might feel wrong too. Probably the biggest giveaway will be the price. One night market in Laos was found to be selling Spur’s yellow away shirt for just over £1 a pop, so it is a good guess they weren’t real. Then again, maybe they just wanted to offload them as there were no takers.
Summary
Styles have changed over the years and collars have come and gone, and materials have changed. Retro looks keep on returning, often due to an anniversary of a cup or league win, and there are unofficial retro shirts available on the net for fans.
While the pricing and constant changing of designs is a cause of irritation for many, they are an extra source of income, and for smaller clubs, they can make a big difference.
With the pricing as it is, it is not surprising that fans sometimes turn to fakes as a cheaper alternative. However, if you are looking for a genuine shirt then check the swing tags for signs of fakery. The best-looking shirt on Khao San Road will still probably have a spelling mistake on the hang tag.