American soccer fans looking to purchase USMNT jerseys as the team prepares for the World Cup knockout stage “may soon be running short of options with supplies running low among U.S. retailers,” according to Betancourt, Bushnell & Crafton of THE ATHLETIC. Some of the most popular online stores for USMNT merchandise -- Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fanatics, Soccer.com and the official U.S. Soccer store -- are “all showing limited availability of the jerseys, made by Nike, particularly for the popular red-striped home shirt.” One retail exec said that the supply “could run out as soon as the next few days.” The exec said, “(Nike has) been told by countless retailers you need to make more jerseys way before these events happen and they just don’t do it.” As of Friday morning on Nike’s website, the home USMNT jersey is “only available in some player-specific versions, with limited sizing in both youth and adult options,” while the away shirt is “sold out in adult sizes yet available in some youth sizes.” U.S. Soccer noted that the team’s World Cup kits had “record-breaking sales in the first two weeks of availability” following their March release. A federation spokesperson said, “For U.S. Soccer Store e-commerce sales only, we have sold more than double the number of jerseys we sold through the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.” Nike faced similar issues in February when the U.S. men’s hockey team won Olympic gold for the first time since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/26).
SURGING SALES: BLOOMBERG NEWS’ Eru Ishikawa writes when Japan’s World Cup team face off against football powerhouse Brazil on Monday, they will do so “wearing an away kit that has captivated fans and sent sales soaring over the 2026 tournament.” Data provided by the Japan offices of supplier Adidas AG noted that sales of the distinctive jersey -- white with fine, colored stripes -- have “surged about 29-fold compared with the 2022 Qatar World Cup.” Meanwhile, the company said that sales of Samurai Blue home jerseys have “roughly doubled compared to the Qatar event” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/29).
