Sports retailers are extra-time winners from FIFA World Cup

Stores selling football jerseys say they sold hundreds of shirts long before the final whistle of the Football World Cup.

By Charlie Dreaver

Players Sports Greenlane manager Tai Pritchard said the only shirts left at the end of the tournament were from a couple of countries that didn't make as far as expected in the competition.

"At the moment, we have a few Japan replica jerseys [...] maybe have one or two Germany jerseys left but, other than that, it's basically all sold out," he said.

Spain and Argentina were favourites and sold out quickly, but the level of demand for All White jerseys took the store by surprise.

"That whole Tim Payne phenomenon, we sold out quite quickly of the All White jerseys."

Football Central co-owner Jamie Farrington said he only had kids' sizes left of the Spanish and Argentinian shirts.

He too only had "rats and mice" left, other than some Germany and Brazil shirts.

"Due to the fact that we had to place our orders about six months ago, it's always a crystal ball effect. You never know who's going to be in the final."

All Whites defender Tim Payne was the most popular name people ordered to have printed on shirts.

"A big one obviously with his claim to fame with the social media uptake but always the main ones [Lionel] Messi 10, I think [Jude] Bellingham 10 was a big one," Farrington said.

Vintage jerseys were also in demand, with Stefan 'Chemo' Chmielewski from Chemofinds saying interest peaked the month before the tournament with people going to the World Cup.

Chemo said Spain, Argentina, England and New Zealand jerseys were the most popular, adding that older All White jerseys were harder to find.

He said it had taken a lot of research to be able to tell the authentic shirts from the fakes. Picking up a dupe he had put aside from inside his storage room, he pointed out one tell-tale way to find out if some of the newer shirts are fake – the product codes printed on tags inside the shirt.

"If you type that middle code up on Google, it would usually match with the shirt. But if you type this one up on Google, it'll match with another shirt, which means it's unauthentic," he said.

He sells the clothing at markets and online, but there were some jerseys he’s kept for his own collection – for example, a 1982 All White shirt.

"This shirt was back when the All Whites made the first ever World Cup. Just an unreal, rare piece. Not many in New Zealand will have this shirt," he said.