Soccer

World Cup win leads to global scarcity of official Argentina shirts

Leo Messi lifting the World Cup in Lusail on 18 December has led to an unprecedented surge in demand for the famous albiceleste shirt.

JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONIEFE

The message is the same after a browse on a series of Adidas websites across the world.... sold out, agotado, venduto.

There are no Argentina shirts available...anywhere, not even the away purple jersey or the special commemorative white Adidas t-shirt with the famous logo coloured in with the light blue and white of the Argentina flag....everything is sold-out!

‘Extraordinary demand’

“Due to the extraordinary demand for Argentina’s World Cup jerseys around the world, we are very low on stock in some countries,” a spokesman for the German company said. “We are working to get more shirts to fans so they can enjoy an incredible journey for the national team,” the Adidas employee said, as reported by Bloomberg.

The Argentine Football Association too analysed the lack of shirt situation after the Lusail win: “We can’t do anything about it, although it’s in our interest to sell more. It’s a matter for Adidas and there are problems in the country that affect them, such as the import ban and the lack of manpower, as well as the high level of excitement among the people.” (AFA) said.

Detailed view of an Argentina shirt following the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France Michael Regan - FIFAGetty

Three stars

Business leaders say their current supply chain issues primarily stem from global political unrest (58%), lack of raw materials (44%) and rising fuel and energy costs (40%) with inflation also cited as another major contributor to a delay in stock being generated to meet demand.

Adidas Argentina did manage to supply a limited quantity of the home shirt with three stars to depict the 1978, 1986 and 2022 World Cup wins but the jerseys flew off the shelves with fans desperate to get a bit of Albiceleste history with the seasonal Christmas uplift furthering fervour.

Argentina fans in Europe will have to be patient to get their hands on the famous sky and white striped shirt with the three stars after the company confirmed that this version of the 2022 winners shirt will be available on 13 April (2023) to UK and EU customers.

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