KOCHI: The sight of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah crying in pain on the ground following a challenge by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos during their Champions League final is still afresh in the minds of his fans and neutrals. The Egypt forward, who injured his shoulder, is not yet sure of playing at the World Cup in Russia, but the love and support for him have only grown since then, including in the soccer-crazy Kerala. And it is reflected in the robust sale of the shirts of Egypt in the state.
The local jersey makers are bringing out more jerseys of Egypt to meet the demand, especially in north Kerala. Mathappan, who owns a jersey production unit at Angamaly, said he has been witnessing high demand for a jersey other than that of Argentina and Brazil for the first time.
“The demand for Egypt jersey is the highest in North Kerala market, especially in Malappuram. Salah’s performance with Liverpool last season and the controversial injury he suffered during the Champions League final against Real Madrid last month saw him becoming popular along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among Kerala’s football fans. Those buying Egypt’s jersey want to imprint only Salah’s name and his number. Other Egypt players are not so popular and most of them are unknown to our fans. Similarly, there’s also huge demand for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku now,” said Mathappan.
He said jersey sale is at its peak and his company supplies around 3,000 jerseys to sellers across Kerala on a daily basis.“Best-selling jerseys are of Argentina and Brazil. There’s also demand for shirts of Germany, Spain, England and Portugal. Once the World Cup starts, it will increase,” he said.
Adidas and Nike are the official shirt sponsors of most teams. An Adidas store in Kochi informed Express that demand for jerseys of Argentina, Spain and Germany, sold at Rs 4,999, is high. Replica of Adidas Telstar 18, the official ball for the World Cup, is also frequently asked for.
“While the official World Cup ball is priced at Rs 9,999, its replica is sold at Rs 2,999 and Rs 3,999. We also have T-shirts with the crest and names of the World Cup favourites,” a sales executive said.A Kochi store of Nike, which sponsors Brazil’s and France’s shirts, said they are in high demand despite being priced at Rs 5,000.
The sale of jerseys by local manufactures is comparatively higher obviously due to low prices. Suneesh, Showroom Manager of CAPS Sports, Kochi said locally made Argentina and Brazil jerseys are high on sale.
“On Sunday, we sold around 300 jerseys and our stock is almost over. The price of jersey starts from Rs 180 and high-quality jerseys are available in the Rs 300-Rs 500 price range,” he said.