Sale of jersey, flag goes up as soccer fever grips fans

Traders put on display jerseys and flags of different football-playing countries as their sale has gained momentum ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Bangladesh is nowhere on the map of the top soccer-playing nations but fans in the country wear jerseys and hoist flags on rooftops or treetops to showcase their deep love and passion for their favourite teams during every FIFA World Cup.

With the World Cup Qatar 2022 set to begin on November 20, a familiar scene is now seen all over the country. Fans are thronging footpaths and shopping malls or exploring online shops to buy flags, masks and jerseys of the teams they support and consequently traders are making a good business.

Flags, masks and jerseys are being sold at almost all shopping malls and footpaths from Uttara to Gulistan in the capital. Football fans are buying jerseys from online platforms as well.

And like other World Cups, the demand for flags and jerseys of Brazil and Argentina is on the top.

Mohammad Asad has been selling flags for almost 16 years. According to him, the volume of sales he makes ahead of the World Cup surpasses his expectations every time.

“I’m now selling flags worth Tk 6,000-8,000 every day. In normal time, I hardly could sell flags of Tk 1,000-1,500 in a day but the upcoming World Cup has boosted my business. The sale of Argentinean and Brazilian flags is going well as expected,” he said.

The veteran flag seller said depending on sizes, he has been selling a flag at Tk 50-700.

Tailors are preparing flags commercially in Dhaka’s New Market area. Vendors buy flags from there and sell those in different parts of the capital.

Abdul Hannan, a dressmaker of New Market’s Ali Baba Tailors, said, “Usually, we get big work orders in March and December ahead of the Independence Day and Victory Day but now we’re receiving huge orders ahead of the World Cup.”

The sale of jerseys has also gained momentum marking the World Cup, dubbed the greatest show on earth.

Private company employee Rupali Chowdhury brought her son and daughter to Bashundhara City Shopping Complex on Monday. “Today I’ve bought a jersey for my Argentina fan son and another one for my Brazil fan daughter. I’m an Argentina fan and my husband is a Brazil supporter. We’ll also buy jerseys next week,” she said.

According to her, the price of jersey replica is a bit high this year but the quality of fabric is good.

Rubel Ahmed, a sales manager of Sports House at Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium Market at Gulistan, said the sale has reached its peak with the World Cup nearing. He hopes that the sale will increase further.

He said almost 90 percent of jerseys sold are of Argentina and Brazil. Apart from these two countries, fans are buying jerseys of Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, England and Netherlands.

Most of the jersey wholesale markets are in Gulistan area of Dhaka. Along with locally made jerseys, imported ones are also available there.

Traders said local jerseys are selling at Tk 200-500 each while the imported ones at Tk 700-800 apiece.

But at the retail level, the price is Tk 200-300 higher. Besides, buyers have to spend Tk 60-400 to write the name of their favourite player or their own on the jersey.

Moshiur Sports of Twin Tower Market in Gulistan imports jerseys from abroad. Its owner Moshiur Rahman said, “We mainly import jerseys made in China. Both local and foreign jerseys of different countries are available here but the demand for local jerseys is high.”

He also said due to the ongoing dollar crisis, he has not been able to open a letter of credit (LC) for importing more jerseys. According to him, jerseys cannot be imported as per the demand for lack of LC while in some cases products are not available on time even after opening LC.

In addition to stores, vendors are also selling jerseys online.

Fahim Sajjad, owner of ‘Fahim Warehouse BD’ which sells jerseys online, said there is a demand for all types of jerseys online. Among them, jerseys priced at Tk 350-450 are in high demand.

He said he receives orders for over 500 jerseys online every week.