The terminology used in football shirts today is quite simply a mess in our opinion.

 A prime example of this is the term 'replica' which has been truly taken over by people selling unofficial or 'fake' copies of shirts. While others have changed their naming approach, Nike being a good example, who does two variants for the consumer market, with the player type currently called "Nike Dri-FIT ADV".

The name derives from Nike's replica shirt technology, Dri-FIT, with the added ADV for "Advanced". The replica kit technology is still called "Nike Dri-FIT". Where Nike has been clever though is branding them Stadium for the fan /replica version and Match for the player type to give some degree of separation. But some manufacturers such as Puma still refer to the fan versions of their shirts as a replica and they aren't the only ones just the most obvious and popular of them. That in itself can cause a lot of confusion if you're not familiar with it all.

adidas refer to their player type items as authentic which could be very confusing if you're new to football shirts and to us, authentic is anything genuine really.

 All kit suppliers do two variants for consumer sale and they all seem to use different terms.  Bear in mind the player type shirts are just that and only like the ones the players wear and are not the same as a player issue shirt, which is a different thing altogether. Player issue shirts can be sourced from certain suppliers.

Classic Football Shirts, who have been at this for a long time now have an incredible selection of genuine cannot buy in the shops, high street or generally online player issue items sourced through direct links with the manufacturers and teams and for pretty much the same price (and frequently even less!) than a new shirt costs from most outlets. They are definitely worth a look here 

 >https://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/match-worn-shirts/player-issue.html< 

It's something we aspire to be able to offer you. With some time, hard work and a bit of luck we will get there!

As well as player issue, which are items supplied to the team but never used and then usually returned to the manufacturer or sold directly through suppliers like Classic Football Shirts. There is match issue too, exactly as it sounds issued to the club and prepared for a match but likely spares that were never used, and then at the very top of the pile is match worn, which again is exactly what it sound like. CFS have a great selection of all of these too. There are also differences in this type of shirt too with Premier League 1st teams having the very top level and the youth teams tend to have one down from that but is still a higher level than you can buy in the shops. The information above applies to both but it'd worth reading all the details on the item you are interested in so you know exactly what to expect.

Then there is the signed / autographed memorabilia section that will contain all of the above shirts too. Some will come with a COA depending on where and who you're purchasing it from. That stands for Certificate of Authenticity which is a document that proves that the signature is genuine. Most of the time, but not all the time. As with most things in life it is open to scammers too. Some COA's will be lost and shirts sold without them, but there will also be fakes in that area of the market too so take extra caution when shopping for signed goods. You will also find shirts made for the club specifically for things like player signings that may be missing elements like sponsor logos if you were to take it out the frame and look at it from the front. Not the worst thing in the world but something to also bear in mind.

The football shirt market is now very tall and wide and constantly evolving as manufacturers find new ways to add more products into their range. There has been a lot more emphasis in teams training kit in recent years with some absolute crackers out there and some really wacky and FunKit(s) too! (sorry we had to get it in there at least once!)

 It would be great for us fans if there was some uniformity in the terminology used with football shirts and all the other items they make between kit suppliers and we might get some eventually, it's not a given though. It is really disappointing that the term "replica" has been taken over by the sellers of fake shirts. That to us has always been what we think of when you go and buy one in the club shops and retail stores.

You really need to take care when looking to buy anything labelled retro and especially replica on platforms like eBay, Depop and Facebook because it could very well be someone trying to be clever with their description. See below the true definition of replica. Not only that, there are websites popping up every day with modern remakes of classic kits that aren't official manufacturer produced or club licenced so if it's a genuine shirt you are after go to somewhere you can be certain you will get one and offer you assurances that's what they supply.

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replica

noun

an exact copy or model of something, especially one on a smaller scale

Depending on how you view the definition, which is open to interpretation, it does describe a fake to a degree. But in reality they aren't an exact copy when you compare it like for like with a genuine example. They may look the same but the quality is not. And somewhat ironically given the definition, they will usually come up a size or two smaller than you'd expect them to be!

Also be weary of listings that don't state who the manufacturer is or just have the club down as it. It could be a mistake but the chances are someone is just being clever with what information they do or don't put to cover their backs.

Things to look out for on new shirt sales tags.

Manufacturers won't use generic terms like FOOTBALL SHIRT. Using Adidas as an example, a common one being used in recent years is ADIDAS JSY (the jsy obviously standing for jersey) Adidas won't do that on any of their products. They will abbreviate as shown in the images below, but it will relate to the team, the kit and even the version. REAL 3 JSY AU L stands for Real Madrid 3rd Jersey Authentic Long sleeve. Which is more a work of art than football kit!

Modern genuine shirts no matter the make will have a product code on the sales tag that matches the one stitched into the shirt somewhere and quite often have a QR code on them as shown on the Real Madrid shirt below. They are becoming more common now with other brands such as Kappa also putting them on their tags to help you identify a genuine shirt easily.