Football shirts
Replica football shirts, normally replicas of the sports shirts worn by sportsmen, are commonly found in the football (soccer) market, with increased popularity after the commercialisation of football in the 1990s. With the rise of advertising in the mid 20th century, sponsors' logos began to appear on the shirts, and replica strips were made available for fans to purchase, generating significant amounts of revenue for clubs.
In the United Kingdom, several clubs have been accused of price fixing, and Manchester United were in fact fined in 2003.[8] The high prices, and the fact that new designs are brought out each season for many clubs, mean that shirts are often the subject of satire among football fans, but many still consider it an obligation to wear them. Newcastle United and Manchester United fans for example have a famously high take-up rate on their clubs black and white striped and red and white shirts respectively. The prices have also led to many fans buying fake shirts which are imported into the UK from Thailand, Malaysia and Far East Asia; many sellers on eBaynow indicate that their shirt are real rather than fake.[9]
Football players and fans wear this form of T-shirt that carries the team colours as a singe of their team loyalties. These tops are of a major personal and sentimental value to those supporters and the players who were them. Football players are obliged to wear them on the pitch and during the game itsself as a means of in-game identification of their team affiliation.
from : wikipedia
