A new app will give World Cup counterfeiters the red card – by telling fans if the England shirt they are about to buy is real or fake. KitLegit has been developed by brand protection investigators battling a tidal wave of hooky football strips swamping Britain ahead of next month’s tournament.
It can tell from a photo if a shirt is real or not – and offers a certificate of authenticity to aid a future trade or diploma of dodginess to help duped fans get their money back from banks or finance houses. The bot will work off a picture of a shirt or an online photo allowing supporters to check out the authenticity of a prospective purchase before they send the cash.
Investigators reckon it could kybosh Del Boy-style traders behind a World Cup counterfeit kit explosion fuelled by the rocketing prices of real shirts on sale for up to £135.
While they accept some cash-strapped folk will still buy bogus – despite the illicit trade fuelling terrorism, drug gangs, organised crime and modern day slavery – experts reckon it will stop innocent victims of tricksters being conned. At least 16.2 million counterfeit football shirts are sold in Britain annually at an average price of £11 as part of an illicit market worth £180m.
There are 1.6 fake jerseys in circulation for every legitimate shirt sold. Cops seized 4,400 bogus strips from an outdoor market in the Midlands last month and trading standards chiefs confiscated 52 fake full England kits from a car boot sale in Leicester last week in a £500,000 Scam United swindle.
Lord Richard Walker of Broxton, executive chairman of Iceland superstores, has called on the Government to step in to halt the illicit trade. The Daily Star recruited one of Britain’s leading brand protection experts – who helped develop the app – to lift the lid on the World Cup counterfeit kit operation.
The expert, who asked to remain anonymous after receiving threats from crime gangs his work has exposed, picked apart the differences between a genuine £89.99 England shirt from a High Street store and a bogus replica we bought from China for £12.15 – including delivery.
He revealed the fake shirt, which to the naked eye looked the same, could be packed with skin-burning toxic dye – and may go up in flames. “We’re talking about something that has had absolutely zero safety checks on it,” he said.
“Every corner possible has been cut to get that product out as quickly as possible as cheaply as possible. They don’t care. So we don’t know what’s in the fabric. Could it be harmful? Yes. Could it be a fire hazard? Yes. We don’t really know what’s in that process at all. It can be quite scary.
“Counterfeiting is a criminal enterprise. It’s unregulated. There’s lots of strands of criminality that are involved. The counterfeit product can be used as a currency so we’re not just talking about drugs and terrorism potentially, we’re talking about modern slavery. You may pay £12 for a shirt from China. What are the conditions the people are working in? What is in that fabric? How harmful is it?
“Where is the money going? I think if people really understood the journey of one of these counterfeit products to the UK they might be less likely to invest in some of their shirts.”
Though the two shirts looked virtually identical the investigator picked out the fake in a second thanks to a host of ‘quite easy giveaways’. The first was the price – anything 70% cheaper than the genuine article will be bogus.
He spotted stitching glitches on the collar and sleeves of the fake shirt, the tag was fitted in the wrong position and its label had ‘fictitious details’. Turning it inside out revealed poor stitching quality and he spotted a pen mark on an internal label which ‘would never be found with an official product’.
Though both shirts bore similar watermarks it was clearer on the real one due to the superior quality of the material. The genuine shirt was also off-white compared to the much brighter fake.
But the investigator said due to technological advancements the quality of counterfeits was improving making them tougher to spot for fans. The investigator said he was currently battling a ‘spike’ in the volume of counterfeit shirts in the UK which was common when new products were launched.
“Definitely around this World Cup and the frenzy associated with it – the fact that obviously the English national team is doing well and has quite a chance – that’s probably heightened demand for the genuine shirts,” he said.
“That in itself creates demand and an opportunity for the counterfeit trade to exploit.” He had also noticed a rise in rip-off retro Three Lions shirts from previous tournaments.
As they had been discontinued it was harder for fans to compare them with the real thing. Counterfeiters were also taking advantage of cross-over collaborations between teams and fashion houses.
“Football shirts are not just to wear to the game. They’re a fashion product now,” he said. “Kids live in football shirts not just for matches. I think that’s created a frenzy around football shirts. Football in this country is our main sport. We’ve got the Premier League which is hugely popular globally and then at the same time we have these tournaments like the World Cup which really engage the public and fans in general.
Football shirts have transitioned into fashion. A lot of teams are doing their own official collaborations with designer brands expanding the potential for counterfeiters.”
The investigator said shirt trading online was like the ‘Wild West’ where it was hard to know if one was genuine or not. Some gangs clone sport retailers’ websites so fans think they are buying legitimate products. Others funnel them through vintage clothing sites which are deemed more trustworthy by customers.
The investigator said the app would protect folk trying to buy genuine products. “We had an issue with consumers coming to us having unknowingly bought fakes and being disappointed with the purchase they received or losing money from dodgy websites,” he said. We wanted to give consumers the power to find out for themselves whether something they had bought or were planning to purchase was legitimate so we created KitLegit.
“It allows consumers to take images of various parts of the shirt and gives a result within about 60 seconds that tells you whether something is counterfeit or genuine.
“It could be an image from a website. You could submit those pictures to this app and it would tell a purchaser whether they’re about to make a mistake. Equally if you’ve already bought the shirt and you’re not sure about it you can do the check on the physical shirt and again it will tell you if it is counterfeit.
“You are provided with certification that you can use to get your money back from your bank or the platform or seller. It’s really focussed on giving the power to consumers who may struggle to tell the difference between authentic and counterfeit goods.
“It’s being used by both fans and by small businesses which sell vintage retro football shirts.”
According to the UK-based Lehi James Store – which sells genuine shirts – fakes ‘pose real health dangers’.
They can feature untreated fabrics which could ‘catch fire easily in accidents like bonfires or household mishaps’ and contain ‘harmful toxins’ which could ‘irritate skin’. Cash ‘vanishes into the black market, bypassing taxes, legitimate businesses, and economic growth’.
“This lost income means less tax revenue for governments, leading to higher burdens on everyday people through increased taxes or reduced public services. It also stifles innovation and jobs in the legitimate apparel sector.” it said.
“Counterfeiting costs the UK economy £9 billion a year and 80,000 jobs. Ultimately we all pay the price for these ‘bargains’.”
And fake shirt sales ‘fuel organized crime’. “Many operations are run by criminal gangs using counterfeit trade as a front for money laundering, drug trafficking, and even sexual exploitation,” it said. “In the UK raids have uncovered links to modern slavery, prostitution, and violent crime.
Globally, the counterfeit market – valued at trillions -funds illicit activities with football shirts a key player. Buying a fake isn’t victimless – it empowers gangs that exploit vulnerable people, perpetuating cycles of violence and abuse.
“Purchasing from shady online sellers exposes your sensitive data. Fake shirt sites often lack secure payment systems making card details and addresses vulnerable to theft.
“Behind the scenes counterfeit factories operate without oversight exploiting workers in horrific conditions. Child labor, forced work, and modern slavery are rampant in the unregulated counterfeit clothing industry, with reports of abuse, trafficking, and minimal pay.
“These sweatshops prioritise speed over safety, exposing people to hazardous chemicals and long hours without breaks. By buying fakes you’re indirectly supporting this exploitation which affects millions in global supply chains.
“Finally fakes hold no long-term value. Authentic shirts can become collector’s items, fetching high prices years later. Counterfeits? They’re junk – poorly made and unappreciated in resale markets.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.