Fake football shirt market 'worth £180m in UK'

The market for counterfeit versions of UK Premier League football shirts has been valued at a whopping £180m ($238m), equivalent to almost a third of legitimate sales, according to a new analysis.

The study by brand protection specialist Corsearch – published as the new football season gets underway – estimates that criminals are producing and selling an estimated 16.2m shirts per year, with an average price of £11 each, to arrive at the $180m figure.

That compares to legitimate sales of 10 million shirts per year, at an average price of £76.50, which Corsearch says compares to a £489m market for legitimate shirts in the 2022/2023 season.

"This means that, on average, counterfeits are being sold 86 per cent cheaper than legitimate football shirts and there are over one and a half counterfeit shirts in circulation for each real shirt sold," according to the company, which calculated the market based on the value and volume of counterfeits affecting seven clubs that was removed from the market over a four-month period.

It's a fascinating insight into the actual monetary sums generated by counterfeiting and should provide a truer picture of the illicit market than calculations based on manufacturers' recommended retail prices.

"The market for sporting club merchandise is unique as fans desire a particular strip that represents their club, leaving no scope for 'shopping around' as they might with other purchases. It's either official or counterfeit," commented Robert Cochrane-Gough, strategic account director for brand protection at Corsearch.

"While Premier League teams are looking towards trophies and success, the brands behind them are facing their own off-field battle in trying to protect their club identity and revenues."

The net result of counterfeiting is that Premier League clubs lose an estimated £246m in football shirt sales per year, which doesn't take into account the damage to their brand through association with what is likely to be an inferior product.

Of course, not everyone who buys a counterfeit would be prepared to fork out for a real one, and there is clearly an appetite to buy fakes. Online searches for fake football shirts have skyrocketed by 514 per cent since the 2021 Euros, according to Corsearch.