By Robbie Butler
One of the parties in government in Ireland recently took to X to highlight what it believes is the ‘unfair’ pricing of the Republic of Ireland football jersey. The tweet – accompanied by a short video – read: “The price of Irish football jerseys is too high. That’s why Senator Gareth Scahill is calling on the FAI and kitmakers to review the pricing structure for their jerseys.” It is an interesting intervention.
Market dynamics in this space have changed quickly. Until Troy Parrott’s heroics against Portugal and Hungary, demand for Republic of Ireland jerseys appeared relatively muted. Events in November, however, sent supporters scrambling for the latest kit, which quickly sold out. I wrote about this in late November.
Supply chain issues now appear to have been resolved and prices set accordingly. The Adults Ireland Home Replica Jersey is currently priced at €105. Expensive? Certainly. Too high? That is for the market to decide, not a politcal party.
There is also some historical perspective worth considering. The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup – the peak of my own jersey-wearing days. Instead, I bought a Brazil jersey, which I still own. It cost £50 at the time. Adjusted for inflation, that would be equivalent to almost €115 in December 2025, around €10 more than what Castore are charging today.
Those interested in reading more about the economics of football jerseys might enjoy our paper in the Journal of Instiutional Economics - free to read here.
One of the parties in government in Ireland recently took to X to highlight what it believes is the ‘unfair’ pricing of the Republic of Ireland football jersey. The tweet – accompanied by a short video – read: “The price of Irish football jerseys is too high. That’s why Senator Gareth Scahill is calling on the FAI and kitmakers to review the pricing structure for their jerseys.” It is an interesting intervention.
Market dynamics in this space have changed quickly. Until Troy Parrott’s heroics against Portugal and Hungary, demand for Republic of Ireland jerseys appeared relatively muted. Events in November, however, sent supporters scrambling for the latest kit, which quickly sold out. I wrote about this in late November.
Supply chain issues now appear to have been resolved and prices set accordingly. The Adults Ireland Home Replica Jersey is currently priced at €105. Expensive? Certainly. Too high? That is for the market to decide, not a politcal party.
There is also some historical perspective worth considering. The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup – the peak of my own jersey-wearing days. Instead, I bought a Brazil jersey, which I still own. It cost £50 at the time. Adjusted for inflation, that would be equivalent to almost €115 in December 2025, around €10 more than what Castore are charging today.
Those interested in reading more about the economics of football jerseys might enjoy our paper in the Journal of Instiutional Economics - free to read here.
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