KOCHI: It seems the star footballer Mohamed Salah has won the hearts of several Keralites as the jersey of Egypt has turned popular during the World Cup markets in the state, notably in North Kerala. The local jersey makers are bringing out more jerseys of Egypt to meet the demand.
Mathappan who owns a jersey production unit in Angamaly said for the first time he has witnessed high demand for the jersey other than of Argentina and Brazil. "The demand for Egypt jersey is highest from North Kerala market. After Salah's performance at the club level and controversial injury during the Champion League final last month, he has become a popular figure for Kerala football fans in line with Messi and Ronaldo. Those buying the jersey of Egypt only want to imprint Salah's name and squad number. Other Egypt players are not so popular and most of them are unknown to the fans. Similarly, there is also demand for Belgium's striker Romelu Lukaku now," he said.
Mathappan said jersey sales are at its peak and on a daily basis his company supplies around 3000 jerseys to sellers across Kerala. "Best selling jerseys are of Argentina and Brazil. There is also demand for jerseys of Germany, Spain, England and Portugal. Once the World Cup starts the demand will increase," he said.
While there is also good sale for national team jerseys by Adidas and Nike. When contacted an Adidas showroom in Kochi, it was informed that demand for jerseys of Argentina, Spain and Germany are high. The Adidas jerseys are sold for Rs 4999. While there is also a high sale of the replica model of Adidas Telstar 18 model ball which will be in use for World Cup matches. "The original Telstar 18 model football is priced at Rs 9999. While replica of it is sold for Rs 2999 and 3999. We also have Tshirts with emblem and names of major countries," A sales executive said.
While a Nike showroom in Kochi also claimed good sale during football World Cup season. The jerseys of Brazil and France manufactured by Nike are most popular. The price of the jersey is Rs 5000.
The sale of national team jerseys by local manufactures is comparatively higher than by the branded companies due to price differences. P Suneesh, Showroom Manager of CAPS Sports at Broadway, Kochi said locally made Argentina and Brazil jerseys which are high on sale. "On Sunday we had sold around 300 jerseys and our stock is almost over. The price of jersey starts from Rs 180 and high-quality jerseys are available for Rs 300-500 price range," he said.