Analysis: Rapid commercialisation and fan loyalty means replica jerseys and sportswear are now a billion euro business
The sale of replica jerseys in the soccer world is big, big money - so big it's become a billion euro business. History shows it wasn’t always this way, but the sport entered an era of rapid commercialisation from the late 1970s. Although clubs stayed loyal to their colours, jerseys began to change more frequently. The norm became a new home kit, a change to a hem here, a new cuff there, a different sponsor, a star player’s name on the back and so on.
On home soil, Bohemian FC has seen a huge spike in revenue from the sale of replica jerseys, in part by tapping into the club's history and values, as well as social issues. Recent years have seen Bohs' jerseys featuring Bob Marley, Aslan and Christy Dignam, as well as a collaboration with Fontaines DC and special editions in aid of Palestine, Focus Ireland, and a Refugees Welcome jersey for Amnesty International. Reporting for Business Plus, Ben Haugh highlighted that the club had a turnover of just under €1m in 2014, with about €100,000 coming from merchandise sales. By 2024, turnover was €4.5m and €2m came from merchandise.
When it comes to the GAA, sportswear company O’Neill’s reportedly made more than €2.8 million in 2023, a considerable chunk of which is likely to be from GAA merchandise and replica jerseys, which retail at €75. However, after the shortening of the All-Ireland season by six weeks, the GAA has said sales of replica jerseys were down 16% in 2022 and down again in 2023.
The rapid change seen in the football industry followed a century during which informal customs and traditions established the jersey colours we know today. Diving into the history of football league clubs in England, Dr Robert Butler, Senior Lecturer in Economics in UCC found the now customary and habitual wearing of traditional colours has its roots as far back as Victorian Britain. Nottingham Forest is the club with the longest tradition of wearing a single colour: red, since 1865 - inspired by the "redshirts" of Italian general and republican Giuseppe Garibaldi, who toured northern England at the time.
With no formal rule in place, jersey colours used to change season to season. We associate Manchester United with red, but the club didn't settle on it until 1902. Before then, it wore white and blue, green and yellow, red and white halves, green and all-white, before settling on their red, white and black colours. Liverpool originally wore blue and white, Manchester City black and Chelsea green.
To avoid clashes, the 1891 Football League Annual General Meeting saw the introduction of a rule decreeing that no two member teams could register similar colours, a rule that proved highly effective: over the next decade, one-fifth of all clubs (19 of the 92) in the Football League would choose what would become permanent colours. From this point on, clubs weren't changing their colours, and jerseys were altered infrequently. 'A club could sometimes play for up to 10 seasons without issuing a change of jersey'.
Fast forward several decades and 1976 would become a landmark year. Kettering Town stepped onto the field with 'Kettering Tyres' emblazoned on their red jersey, something which the FA did not appreciate (they threatened the club with a £1,000 fine). But the following season the club, as well as several others, proposed a rule change permitting sponsorship on jerseys - and a new era was born. The arrival of live football on TV ushered in another sea change and the jersey would serve two commercial functions: as a vehicle for sponsorship and as replica merchandise.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, the business of retro football shirts
According to Butler, the 81 clubs that had rested upon colours by 1949 produced an average of 14.55 home jerseys between 2001 and 2019. This compares to just 4.6 from 1905-1922, 4.85 from 1922 to 1939 and 10.2 between 1947 and 1965.
While there’s no official rule stopping a club from changing its colours now, everyone from owners to supporters would likely stop it from happening thanks to the traditions, customs and habits in place. It did happen in 2010, when a Malaysian consortium took control of Cardiff City Football Club and changed the traditional home colour from blue to red.
‘Having worn blue since 1908, Cardiff City supporters reacted as expected', explains Butler. 'There was outrage and overwhelming defiance from the fanbase. Wearing blue had been part of the tradition and identity of the Welsh club for over a hundred years. Changing to red, for a club known also as ‘the Bluebirds’, was a step too far. Not to mention, local rivals Bristol City had worn red since 1984. Cardiff City’s identity was as much about not being red'. The owners were forced to revert to blue.
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'While informal constraints have established the colours we see today - the modern jersey is a commercial vehicle. The objective of the garment is almost as much about revenue generation as it is about identification and fulfilment of a formal rule on the football pitch,' Butler says. Although habit and customs were key in stabilising club colours, these are now reinforced by commercial motivations, branding, goodwill, and identity.
This is clearly seen in UEFA’s 2024 annual European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, which reveals the top 20 clubs by revenue from kit and merchandising. Real Madrid tops the list at €196m, making up 18% of the club’s overall revenue. At 14 on the list sits Turkish Fenerbahçe SK, with a revenue of €69m from merchandising, but worth a whopping 39% of the club’s income.
A quick tally reveals income from merchandise surpassed €1.8 billion in 2024 - and that’s just the top 20. According to the report, ‘clubs are increasingly benefitting from their global fan bases and a greater commercial focus. For the top 20, merchandising revenues increased 26% and kit manufacturer deals 6% in 2024 to reach a combined €1.8bn’.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
