A fan in the Democratic Republic of Congo would need to work for almost a month to afford their national team’s World Cup shirt, while a supporter in Switzerland could buy theirs after just a few hours of work, according to a new study on the affordability of football kits.
The World Cup Shirt Index 2026, compiled by Gambling.com, compared the official retail prices of home shirts for all 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup against average monthly wages in each country.
The study found some of the biggest affordability gaps were concentrated in Africa, with seven of the ten least affordable shirts belonging to African nations.
DR Congo ranked as the least affordable. Its Umbro shirt costs the equivalent of around 130% of an average monthly formal sector wage. The report estimates that a fan would need to work about 29 days to buy one replica shirt.
Egypt ranked among the highest in relative cost, with its Puma shirt priced at about half of a monthly wage following recent currency pressures. Ghana and Senegal were both above 30%, while Ivory Coast stood at around 30%.
At the other end of the scale, Switzerland’s Puma shirt costs about 1.4% of an average monthly wage, equivalent to roughly two hours and 20 minutes of work. The United States ranked similarly at 1.5%, while Norway was close to 2%.
The report said the findings highlight the unequal financial burden placed on supporters across the world, despite many shirts carrying similar global retail prices.
Replica shirt prices have also risen sharply since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Nike replica shirts now retail at £89.99, while Adidas shirts cost £84.99 and Puma kits start from £76.99. Smaller manufacturers, including Saeta of Haiti, 7Saber of Uzbekistan and Tempo of Cape Verde, sell shirts for less than half the price of Nike’s replicas.
According to the index, Nike’s average World Cup shirt price has increased by 16.7% since 2022. England’s shirt rose by about 20%, from £74.95 in 2022 to £89.99 in 2026, making it the most expensive England shirt released for a major tournament.
Puma shirts recorded the steepest rise, increasing by about 25% over the same period.
The study also showed how heavily the global sportswear market is dominated by a small number of companies. Thirteen manufacturers supply kits for the 48 qualified nations, but Nike, Adidas and Puma account for more than three quarters of all teams.
Nike supplies 12 nations, including England, France, Brazil and the United States. Adidas provides kits for 14 countries, while Puma supplies 11.
Researchers said the real financial burden on supporters in lower income countries may be even higher than the figures suggest because the wage data only reflects formal sector workers. In many of the countries ranked lowest for affordability, large parts of the population work in the informal economy and earn less than official averages.
Retail prices for the study were taken from official manufacturer stores in May 2026. Wage figures were based on World Bank formal sector average wage data from 2024.
Source: metrotvonline.com
