Thailand factory workers make a measly £1 an hour making England's Qatar World Cup shirts selling for £115. In 2008, an adult-sized shirt cost £40 but now retails at around £56 in today’s prices, the Mirror reports.
“Stadium” shirts have a starting price just under £75, meaning while “match” shirts close to the ones the players wear cost £40 more. Shirts for children cost £59.95, while all the tops can include the name and number of the player for an extra £15.
Some parents took their frustrations extortionate prices online which includes the Lionesses. Mike Rutt said: “I was going to get eldest the new England Lionesses shirt for the Euros – £60 for a kids' football shirt. Daylight robbery.” Ray Ellis added: “I truly cannot believe people pay this ridiculously extortionate price for the latest England football shirt. Anybody buying one, especially in these difficult financial times, must have more money than sense.”
READ MORE: Police seize £500,000 of fake football shirts ahead of World Cup
According to the Mirror, the FA’s Football Association website showed no indication of where the shirts were manufactured however, a label inside the shirts revealed they are in Thailand made for sportswear giant Nike.
Garment industry experts told the publication that they believed the shirts cost around £11 or £12 to make at the factory. Of this, £7.50 will be the estimated cost of materials, and no more than £3 is “CMT” costs – or “cut, make and trim” including labour costs – leaving around £1.50 profit for the factory.
Workers at a Hi-Tech Apparel factory in Bangkok that has been making England shirts for the last few years, told the Mirror this summer that they earned 331 Thai baht, which is around £7.80 – a day - before the minimum wage rose to 353 baht – or £8.30 in October.
The publication said the factory refused to comment on its relationship with the FA and directed all questions to Nike. However, a couple of workers confirmed they made England shirts for the FA. One person said: “We feel proud to be a part of the manufacturing of jerseys for a world-class team like England. The England team jerseys have been produced, patterned, and sewn here for quite some time since before Covid.”
The duo said they typically worked 60 hours a week or eight to 11 hours a day. They also received overtime pay and a bonus if targets are met. But according to one of the workers there is “no employee union” and a “no-phone policy” during working hours. “There are no photos allowed,” they added.
When the shirt is shipped to the UK at an estimated cost of 70p, 32 per cent duty is charged – bringing the cost of getting the shirt to a UK warehouse to £16, experts estimated. Another £19 of the £115 is VAT, which goes to HM Revenue and Customs. This leaves £80 which is shared between sportswear giant Nike, the Football Association and retailers. We are told Nike expects to make between 10 per cent and 15 per cent profit after their costs. The company, based in Oregon, US, earned £10.2billion in revenue last year and made £1.18billion in profit.
The FA does not reveal how much it makes from shirt sales. It said when it signed the Nike deal in 2014: “The FA puts £100million back into the game every year. It is through partners such as Nike that we are able to maintain that level of investment.”
A Nike spokesperson told the Mirror: “Nike is proud to have designed the England National Teams kits which combine high-performance innovation and sustainability. We produce jerseys at multiple price points, so consumers have a choice. Pricing is influenced by many factors including costs of performance materials, R&D, design, manufacturing and selling.
“In addition, Nike is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing. We believe world-class manufacturing begins with respect for people and the environment. While Nike does not own or operate manufacturing facilities, we strive to work with suppliers who share our commitment to making products responsibly and sustainably.”
READ NEXT:
- Free England shirts worth £70 will be given away by Bristol pub next week
- Bristol pub with 11 World Cup screens, roaring fire and roof terrace 'favoured by Banksy'
- World Cup 2022: Football fans set to pay £12 for beer in Qatar
- World Cup 2022: How to watch every game in Qatar, kick-off times and TV schedule
- World Cup 2022 odds: Brazil and Argentina heavily fancied as England's chances drift slightly
