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With England securing their spot at the Euro 2024 final against Spain, counterfeit football shirts are increasingly becoming a sought-after alternative. P&P assistant editor, Cameron Beech, finds out more.
According to data published by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the economy annually loses £9 billion to counterfeiting and piracy, as well as 80,500 annual job losses.
IPO’s data revealed that three in 10 (29%) reported having purchased a counterfeit item, with 17% stating they do so on an often, a sometimes or an occasional basis.
Counterfeiting has reached such a level that according to The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, counterfeiting is now the second largest source of criminal income worldwide.
The scale and magnitude of counterfeiting has been witnessed in real time throughout the duration of Euro 2024.
Counterfeit football shirts seized
A report published by the City of London police revealed that £98,300 of counterfeit football shirts had been seized, resulting in eight arrests, during Euro 2024.
Individuals were arrested by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) for offences pertaining to the selling and distribution of counterfeit goods.
Within the report, Emma Warbey, detective chief inspector at PIPCU, said: “We’re sending a clear message that the links between counterfeiting and other crime, alongside the low quality of counterfeit products, can never amount to a good deal.
“Five people were arrested during raids at a shop and five residential addresses in Camden, north London.
“Around 6,000 counterfeit items, including £9,600 worth of Euro 2024 shirts, were seized. Those arrested have been released under investigation.”
Another report, this time by the City of Stoke-on-Trent, revealed that 178 fake football items were seized by Stoke-on-Trent Trading Standards hours before England kicked off their Euro 2024 match against Denmark, on June 20.
Data from the report showed the seized items had a street value of over £3,500 and a genuine retail value of over £15,000.
The teams included were England, Scotland, Spain, Brazil, Manchester United and Newcastle United.
Authentic vs fake
Content creator and self-proclaimed football shirt collector, @fitbawshirts, took to social media platform, TikTok, to review a counterfeit copy of the special edition Dortmund FC shirt from the 2020 season.
When visually comparing the authentic and counterfeit copies, the difference was not obvious at first. However, after beginning to look at the finer details, the differences became starkly apparent.
The special edition football shirt depicted the club’s legends who won the Champions League in 1997.
On the authentic shirt, the depictions of the individual players were clear and legible. On the fake shirt, however, upon closer inspection of the front of the shirt, players were upside down, and it was unclear which players were which.
Additionally, there was a marked difference in the quality of the lettering on the back of the shirt.
Fitbawshirts further noted that the lettering on the fake does not reach across both shoulders, as it does on the authentic shirt.
From data published in recent reports, the selling and distribution of counterfeit football shirts is estimated to set to rise exponentially over the coming years.
However, with the rise of police intervention and frequent seizures, only time will tell if there will be a significant clamp down on counterfeiting.
Industry opinions
With Euro 2024 concluding last month, Printwear & Promotion spoke with managing director at Infinity Inc, Darren Cohen and director at Wild Thang, John Howarth, to get their thoughts on the matter. Wild Thang has worked with Premier League clubs such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton. Infinity Inc has worked with clubs such as Nottingham Forrest, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Q) The Euros have brought with it a spike in the printing of fake football shirts. Do you feel counterfeit football shirts have had an impact on the garment decoration industry?
Darren Cohen, managing director at Infinity Inc: The surge in counterfeit football shirts, especially during major tournaments like the Euros, has a significant impact on the garment decoration industry. Fake goods create unfair price competition. Genuine manufacturers cannot match the low prices of fake merchandise which is produced with inferior materials, cheaper labour and doesn’t include any of the costs involved in developing the product and designs. Counterfeit shirts also dilute the brand value of football clubs and their sponsors as poor-quality knock-offs may lead to negative perceptions among consumers, damaging the overall reputation of the brand.
John Howarth, director at Wild Thang: As a company who works with the top brands in the game we have not actually noticed an impact on the industry from the printing of fake goods, simply because the top brands are still producing the authentic kit in large numbers and this is what we embellish.
Q) Why do you think fans are increasingly opting to buy fake alternatives?
DC: The number one reason is cost. For example, an authentic England shirt costs between £85 and £125 depending on the version you opt for whereas a fake shirt can cost as low as £12. The quality of fake products in general has massively improved over recent years, items such as perfume, jewellery, tech products and trainers for instance are so good that it’s nearly impossible to notice the difference, so when faced with the option of fake or real, the decision is getting much easier.
JH: I think there will be a draw for fans in the UK to buy fake shirts, simply due to costs of genuine shirts which can now be £100+, alongside the cost of living crisis.
Q) Why should fans buy authentic football shirts?
DC: Fans should buy authentic shirts to support their club. A lot of profit is made from shirt and merch sales which goes to help the running of the club and balancing the books for the financial fair play rules. In recent years, the retail operations of football clubs have become very sophisticated and play such an important part of the club’s revenue stream. Buying fake goods also comes with massive risks around health and safety as there aren’t any of the usual checks around materials, fire safety and chemicals used etc. as well as the issues around child labour and even organised crime.
JH: Authentic shirts have many advantages over those copies, for example the supply chain is fully vetted, all materials are tested for safety and the quality is far superior. When buying fake alternatives, you are potentially supporting child labour overseas and other criminal activity.
Q) How much do you think Euro 2024 has impacted the rise in counterfeit football shirts? Have you noticed a similar pattern with fake football shirts within the Premier League?
DC: I think there has been a massive rise in fake shirts during the build-up to Euro 2024. A lot of the online marketplaces that sell fake shirts have been able to promote and sell other fake shirts for Premier League and Championship clubs which only makes the problem grow and gain momentum.
JH: As with all big tournaments like the World Cup, Euros and Copa America you see a rise in availability of fake shirts. This is because all nations have released their updated kits so it’s an opportunity for the counterfeiters to jump on board, this also happens each summer when PL and EFL clubs release shirts.
Q) How prevalent do you see fake football shirts becoming in the near future?
DC: I expect this to remain a prevalent issue moving forward. Brand protection efforts need to remain focused so it’s good to see football clubs and brands increasingly investing in anti-counterfeiting measures, such as authentication holograms, QR codes, and other authentication technologies, to protect their products. Governments and consumer organisations are stepping up efforts to combat counterfeit goods through stricter regulations, increased border controls, and tougher sentencing and legal actions against counterfeiters. We also need to see continued efforts to educate consumers about the importance of buying authentic products and the negative impact counterfeit goods have on economies and workers, in the hope that it may gradually reduce demand for fake, poor quality merchandise.
JH: I would say fake shirts will always have a market; I don’t think they will ever be any more successful than they are now as the vast majority of fans will only want the genuine kit. However as mentioned earlier I can appreciate there may be people or families who will buy fake purely because it’s all they can afford, therefore meaning the market will also have an outlet.
