Buying Football Shirts: Authentic, Replica and Fake

SPORT · GLOBAL

Buying Football Shirts: Authentic, Replica and Fake

The three tiers explained, spotting a counterfeit, sizing and looking after one

Football shirts are sold at three very different levels, and only two of them are legitimate. Knowing which you are buying prevents both disappointment and a seizure at customs.

Authentic and replica

Authentic or player-issue shirts are the specification worn on the pitch — lighter engineered fabric, a tighter athletic cut, heat-pressed detailing. They cost considerably more and fit close.

Replica shirts use a heavier, more durable fabric in a looser cut, with stitched or printed badges. For most supporters they are the better buy and last longer.

Counterfeits

Unofficial shirts are widespread online and have improved enormously. Selling them is illegal, importing them can mean seizure, and the money goes nowhere near the club.

The signs are in the detail — badge embroidery density, the quality of the sponsor print, the neck tape, the wash label and the product code. Compare the code against the manufacturer's own listing.

Price is a signal rather than proof. A new-season shirt at a quarter of retail is not genuine, and convincing fakes are also sold near full price.

Printing

Official printing uses the league's specified font and material and costs extra. Unofficial printing looks wrong to anyone who knows the competition, and it is not returnable once applied.

Decide on a name and number before ordering, since printed shirts cannot be exchanged.

Sizing

Athletic cuts run small. Work from the garment measurements laid flat rather than the size letter, and note that sizing differs between manufacturers and between markets.

Buying for children

Children outgrow shirts within a season, and printed names date quickly. Buying one size up and leaving printing off keeps it wearable longer.

Check the age sizing against actual measurements, since football shirts are cut generously in some ranges and not others.

Vintage and retro

Officially licensed retro reissues are widely available and are a legitimate alternative to hunting originals. Genuine match-worn and period shirts are a collectors' market with its own authentication problems.

Where the money goes

Official shirts fund the club through the kit deal, and counterfeits fund nothing connected with the game. For supporters that is frequently the decisive argument rather than the legal one.

Club shops and official retailers also offer sales at the end of a kit cycle, which is where genuine shirts become affordable.

Storage

Fold rather than hanging shirts with heavy printing, since the weight stretches the shoulders over years.

Care

Wash cool, inside out, no fabric softener and never tumble dry. Heat is what cracks printed names and lifts sponsor logos.

Iron around printing rather than over it.

WHERE TO BUY

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