Nike’s Nigeria World Cup shirt draws crowds to Oxford Street store

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jun 1, 2018

Hundreds of football fans lined up outside Nike’s Oxford Street store on Friday to get their hands on the brand’s Nigeria World Cup 2018 kit, after the coveted shirt sold out within minutes online.

The Nigeria home kit is shaping up to be this year’s most popular World Cup merchandise. When it was unveiled by Nike in February, football and fashion fans everywhere took to social media to talk about its retro vibe and abstract feather pattern.

On Friday, the kit sold out within minutes online after it went on sale, according to media reports and was unavailable on Nike’s website at the time of writing. Nike said over three million pre-orders were made before Friday.

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Demand was so high that Nike said its UK stores had likely limited availability and made no comments about possibly restocking the collection.

The Nigeria home kit pays subtle homage to Nigeria’s ’94 shirt, worn by the country's first team to qualify. It features an eagle wing-inspired black and white sleeve and green torso, and the pattern extends to Nigeria’s anthem jacket.

A travel suit and accessories including bucket hats complement the collection, adding personality to the looks with a strong 90’s flavour. The retro look and streetwear influences are possibly fuelling the popularity of the kit, which was one of the last ones to be released to avoid counterfeits.