February 26 – Match-worn shirts are fast becoming a micro-industry generating millions of pounds, however, it’s not always guaranteed that the shirt was actually worn in a game by the player in question until today.
Brentford FC are integrating microchips into their match-day shirts, which will prove their authenticity in a move to thwart the market for counterfeit kits.
On Wednesday in their match versus Everton, the Bees will become the first English club to wear shirts that will provide a digital guarantee of their origin.
The verification technology has been created by Fabricks (sister company to MatchWornShirts), and before each match a chip will be heat-pressed on to the shirt. The chip then uses ‘near-field communication’, similar to the technology in a contactless bank card, to allow a smartphone to scan for information that will confirm who wore it and when.
This information is vital to collectors as the market for these shirts has exploded, which has led to a big rise in forgery. Last year the City of London police and the Intellectual Property Office conducted a joint operation during the men’s European Championship that led to £446,681 of ‘fake football apparel’ being seized by authorities.
Official sales of Premier League shirts in the 2022/23 season generated £480 million, however, Corsearch, a company that specialises in copyright protection estimates that the market for counterfeit Premier League shirts is worth £180 million a year.
The chip has been previously used by clubs in Holland.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1740562122labto1740562122ofdlr1740562122owedi1740562122sni@o1740562122fni1740562122