How to spot a fake football shirt | Complete guide
It’s become a huge problem for brands, manufacturers and buyers. The grim fact is, fake football shirts are everywhere.
With advances in production quality, it’s never been more difficult to tell the difference between real vs. fake jerseys.
As a die-hard appreciator of beautiful football kits, I felt it was the right time to step in and offer some helpful advice.
I get it, everyone loves cheap football shirts. But we don’t want you getting dragged into the dark underworld of dodgy knockoffs to chase a bargain.
We only partner with trusted retailers and brands at FOOTY, which is why we know how to spot fake football shirts from a mile away (well, more like a few feet away).
Let's dive in and explore simulation…
How to spot a fake football shirt
How hard can it really be to spot a fake football shirt? Well, these days, a lot harder than you might think.
There are a few key things to look out for if you think you’re being swindled, so let’s take a look.
Check the price
Images From adidas
Price is a dead giveaway. New official shirts are anywhere between £60 and £150. So, that fake you spotted on AliExpress for a tenner? Yep, not real.
Prices are currently at their highest levels for customers, but so are manufacturing and logistics costs. Our advice would be to compare deals and find the cheapest price online with us (well, obviously).
Confirm official tags / product codes
All official releases from leading manufacturers now contain unique product codes, which you can check in various ways.
There are also a few other things to note when you’re eyeing up a fresh kit purchase, because some high-quality fakes now copy real style codes, so checking only the code isn’t foolproof. Combine it with:
- Holograms or authenticity badges
- Fabric quality, stitching, fit
- If it’s a match-worn or limited edition shirt, scan for an NFC chip or QR code sewn into the badge or care tag—many newer shirts now include these for authentication.
Nike
- The code is printed on the internal tag, usually on the inside hem (bottom of the shirt) or inside a side seam, depending on the model
- It follows this format: 123456-789 (6 digits + dash + 3 digits)
- To verify, Google the full code (e.g., "123456-789 football shirt")
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Nike’s own website, trusted retailers
adidas
- The code is either on the tag inside the collar, or near the bottom of the shirt (similar to Nike)
- It also follows this format: 123456-789 (6 digits + dash + 3 digits)
- To verify, again Google the full code (e.g., "123456-789 football shirt")
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: adidas' own website, trusted retailers
- Adidas also uses QR codes on inner labels — scanning these should open a product info page or adidas app
Puma
- The code is either on the tag inside the collar, or near the bottom of the shirt (similar to adidas), or on the external paper tag
- It follows the format: 5–6 digits, no dash (e.g., 759185)
- To verify, Google the full code with the club name (e.g., "759185 Man City")
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Puma's own website, trusted retailers
Hummel
- The code is on the tag near the bottom of the shirt (similar to Puma), or on the external swing tag
- It follows the format: usually start with HML followed by numbers (e.g., HMLA123456)
- To verify, Google the full code or check on Hummel's website
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Hummel's own website, trusted retailers
Umbro
- The code is on the tag near the bottom of the shirt, or on the external swing tag (similar to Hummel)
- It follows the format: Generally numeric (e.g., 65432U) or alphanumeric
- To verify, it's harder to find on google so it's best to check Umbro's website
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Umbro's own website, trusted retailers
Kappa
- The code is on the tag near the bottom of the shirt (similar to Umbro)
- It follows the format: Often alphanumeric (e.g., 311113W-A09)
- To verify, Google the full code with the club name
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Kappa's own website, trusted retailers
Castore
- The code is on the tag near the bottom of the shirt, or the external sale label (similar to Hummel)
- It follows the format: Often starts with CM or CF, followed by numbers (e.g., CM0234)
- To verify, Google the full code with the club name
- If legit, you’ll see consistent images across: Castore's own website, club stores
Check accuracy of detailing
Details are a key area when it comes to spotting a fake vs. the real thing.
Let’s jump into a short list of areas to examine when you’re trying to understand if you’re buying an authentic version
Badges
Compare crests, brand logos and emblems to the original, side-by-side. Do you spot colour mismatches? Can you see spacing errors? Even typos? Fakes will be littered with them.
Labels
As I mentioned in the last section, comparing tags against the official products that you know to be real, can be a telltale marker. Check codes, spacing, layout and colours.
Printing / Colour / Pattern
Shoddy heat and pattern printing can be a clear sign of a shirt that’s come from the fake market.
Often the sponsor or player printing will be wrinkled, discoloured or just plain wrong. Note that any subliminal patterning on fake shirts is often more bold than on the original too.
Material
Shirt material is one the most expensive part of clothes manufacturing, so con artists are forced to use cheaper materials when producing counterfeits.
Get a feel for it, is it thinner than normal? Is it shinier? Hold it up against the light, does it let more light through than you’d expect? You’ll know it's cheap when you see it.
Stitching
Turn the shirt inside out to find out if it contains any weak or untidy stitching. Check all hems, joins and badges.
Don’t get stitched up. All respected manufacturers have strict quality assurance standards to avoid poor quality in this area.
Understand shirt terminology
It can look like a confusing world when multiple versions of every shirt are released.
It's good to understand the terms that are used to describe them, so you know how to avoid being caught out when shopping online.
Replica vs. authentic / player issue
This term isn’t to do with fakes, but dodgy sellers will often use the term ‘replica’ to confuse buyers.
The terms replica vs. player issue shirt is to do with the higher quality matchday versions (authentic / player issue) vs. the fan-friendly standard version (replica).
Original retro / retro remakes
The market for retro football kits is booming, and rightly so. There are some beauties (real ones) out there. But you’ll need to be careful.
Due to the lucrative value of owning original rare shirts from years gone by, scammers are now keen to produce retro fakes of their own.
These are very different to official ‘retro remakes’ or Score Draw shirts, which are fully licenced remakes of the original designs.
Buy from trusted retailers
I know we’re biased on this one, but we mean it. Buying from trusted retailers or brands is the only way you’ll 100% guarantee that you’re getting a real shirt.
Depop, eBay and Facebook Marketplace are minefields when it comes to the football shirt trade. Usually, feedback / reviews and listing quality are clear markers for dodgy activity.
You can also find plenty of football kit connoisseurs and communities on social media, and they’re all helpful when it comes to crowdsourcing on legitimacy. Go get involved with them.
If you’re going retro, Classic Football Shirts have a strict vetting process for anything that they stock. Try to make sure that’s the case whenever you go retro.
Are fake football shirts bad?
There’s only one benefit to buying fake shirts, and that’s probably why people choose to do it. Cost.
Inevitably, they’re cheaper to buy than official football kits. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t exist in the first place, right?
But what are you really getting for that cheaper price? Well, let me explain.
Stadium eviction
Yep, you read that right! Some clubs are now actually making fans leave the ground on matchday if they're caught in a knockoff shirt. Fair play to them.
Funding criminal operations
Image From Pexels
I'm not trying to be too serious here, but those who choose to buy fake football jerseys are essentially funding a criminal operation.
It’s illegal to sell counterfeit branded goods in the UK, and it could also help to fund other illegal activities like money laundering too.
We shouldn’t be funding these people, we should be helping to stop them, just like this seizure of fake World Cup shirts did back in 2022.
Devaluing designers, brands and clubs
Image From adidas
A lot of hard work, thought and design goes into each stitch of a team’s new shirt. If you go fake, you’re dismissing that.
Brands and manufacturers produce quality products and have built their reputation for years, only to be devalued and tarnished by fakes on the market, because if you're seen wearing a shoddy knockoff adidas shirt that's falling apart, it doesn't reflect well on the brand.
Lower quality materials
Image From Pexels
OK, so you may stumble across the odd “decent” one. But the truth is, you’ll never find one anything like the original and official production.
The materials used on the authentic releases (both player issue and replica) are far superior to anything used on fake remakes. Hence the difference in cost.
It’s the same reason why League Two players are worth less than 5% of what most Premier League players are. There’s an obvious gulf in class (no offence to them).
Poor attention to detail
Pick two versions of the same fake shirt up, I guarantee you’ll spot plenty of issues. And that’s before you compare them to an original.
The attention to detail during the manufacturing process is so minimal, you’ll see a ton of errors from batch to batch.
Never forget, the criminals that produce fakes are all about ‘passable’ mass production within the lowest possible budget. Quality assurance? Never heard of him.
Don't wash well
Image From Pexels
Due to the lower quality of materials, it’s a guarantee that fake football kits won’t wash as well as official ones.
This means it might look good on first wear down at 5-a-side, but once you’ve run it through a 2-hour cycle at 30 degrees, it won’t look the same.
Colours will run, bobbles will appear, it’ll shrink and threads will come loose. It’ll all fall apart faster than Manchester United’s top-four hopes.
No resale value for collectors
Image From Classic Football Shirts
If you’re out there hunting for the next collector’s item, then fake shirts are sure to be your worst enemy.
The resale market for football shirts is booming, and that means that savvy collectors are everywhere. They’re a bunch that are becoming experienced at spotting fakes too.
Fakes will depreciate. That’s a cold, hard fact. That “retro classic” you were hoping would rise in value? Worthless.
How to avoid fake football shirts
First of all, try to avoid shopping for brand new shirts at reseller sites like eBay, Depop and Facebook Marketplace.
Those sites are known breeding grounds for fake football shirts, they all seemingly have owners who don’t do anything to stop counterfeit trade either.
If you’re shopping for retro shirts or second-hand classics, be vigilant and always compare the listing to the original using our tips above.
In conclusion, buying from a brand, club shop or trusted retailer is the only way to bag yourself an official product.
At FOOTY.COM, we only partner with trusted retailers that we know to stock official merchandise and team wear.
You can compare football shirt deals from Pro:Direct Soccer, Kitbag, Nike, adidas, Puma and more with us.
Rest safe in the knowledge that if you see it on our site, it’s 100% legit.
