Inside The Sudden Football Kits Fashion Trend In TikTok-Crazy Philippines
By: Levi Joshua Verora
Tags: Football, Shopee, Philippines, Tiktok, Soccer

As I strolled along one of the hallways one sunny afternoon inside the packed public market of Imus, a city part of the Cavite province just an hour south of the Philippines capital of Manila, something noticeable stood out.



I came across at least four individuals wearing football kits-inspired tops. And as I viewed each stall inside the local market, usually a busy area in this part of the city, it had me convinced that yes, this indeed is a new trend that’s taking the country by storm.



Marie, not her real name, asked me what I was looking for — a staple greeting in any public market to establish rapport with on-looking customers.



Then she followed up: “Is it this Emirates shirt? We have more over there.” Marie has been a vendor here for years, but admits she, too, is quite amused by the visibly growing number of shirts sold daily.



Days ago, on a humid Sunday afternoon, I underwent my routinely habit of scrolling up and down on my phone, checking my Facebook news feed for anything worthwhile or interesting.



Not even a substantial amount of minutes into it, I saw at least three posts related to football enthusiasts talking about, yet again, kits spreading like wildfire online through shopping apps like Shopee and Lazada (plus Facebook’s own MarketPlace), and social media giant TikTok.



It has been the latest viral craze in the Philippines — one that is certainly most perplexing and random at that: football kits surging tenfold in popularity in the last quarter of 2020.



And with the predominantly Catholic country just days away from celebrating the Christmas season, the traditional Simbang Gabi (Misa de Gallo in Spanish) or nine straight days of attending church masses as part of Christmas culture, these kits are sure to become the hip fashion statement of young church goers.



More than the kits — fake or not — becoming a fashion trend as supposed to being a workout attire, most football connoisseurs nitpick non-suspecting people’s inability to identify correctly such football kits’ proper names.



As has been the case, the said people call the kits simply by the club teams’ corporate sponsors, becoming the butt of the jokes in Philippine football Facebook groups.



For instance, online sellers would promote their products in peculiar ways:



“Perfect for OOTD and TikTok.”



"Unisex adidas football jersey shirt … perfect for TikTok like what your idols wear…”



"Football jerseys ... Can be oversized for female TikTok users."

Mocking them has been the highlight of football group pages recently, quite a counterproductive trend if you’d ask football media practitioners.

“It’s publicity. Here in the Philippines, you just have to educate them. Educate them that the sponsor is not the name of the team, and the crest on the upper left is the team’s name,” says Italy-based David Abella, co-host for start-up online multimedia page Eat, Sleep, Breathe Football and a huge Juventus fan himself.



"We are a basketball country. We don’t know much about football unlike our ASEAN counterparts. We can’t be purist all the time. Things change, even traditions. We just have to educate them."

While one cannot pinpoint exactly when it started, the rise of football kits becoming a fashion trend could loosely be traced specifically to teenage and early 20s Filipina TikTokers donning such tops for their short videos, whatever the topic or challenge may be.



According to Globalwebindex in 2019, 41 percent of total TikTok users are in the 16 to 24 age range. Filipinas are no exception, using the platform as means for fun or for aspirations to be a social media influencer or even a celebrity some day.



Perhaps also aided by the pandemic situation which has led to nationwide lockdowns, a considerable population of Gen Z and younger millennials have turned to TikTok to avert boredom and have fun in new ways.

The math connects the dots: millions more of Filipinos also use Shopee and Lazada, the leading online shopping apps in the region.



So why in the world did such kits, usually European clubs — of all things — suddenly reach social media mainstream heights? Why not basketball jerseys, given it is the sport that’s king in the Philippines, the NBA influence in the archipelago is also top-notch?

“Something new and fresh, because hip-hop slowly are getting into football jerseys, rather than the usual NBA jerseys,” adds Abella, noting that hybrid dresses inspired by the football kit design template could even be a good thing for women who can express themselves while still showing support for their club of choice.

“I am fine with that because a Barca or a Real fan in Europe, if they see that, they would want to wear that too, because you look sexy and you’re supporting your club at the same time,” he says.



Abella is right. It’s not like basketball jerseys have not been long a fashion icon for young women, too, whether it’s going to shopping malls or partying. Some just wear them to support their basketball idols, or perhaps even wear their boyfriends’or husbands’ uniforms too since they are amateur or recreational level players.



So the trend crossing over to football isn’t rocket science, if you’d ask fashion experts. There’s something with brand placement on shirts in general that attract attention and make it look aesthetically pleasing. Remember when knock-offs of Supreme and Thrasher tees were the “in?”



Make no mistake, imitation or knock-off football kits have been sold in many of Philippines’ local markets. I myself have bought cheap ones for less than 200 pesos (roughly $4) each before, mainly to use them for exercise. Nowadays, the said kits sell for about 300 pesos ($6).



And with the Philippines’ historic achievements in football over the past decade, starting with the “Miracle of Hanoi” in 2010 that wound up with an AFC Asian Cup berth in 2019, the sport’s popularity unarguably rose several levels here.



When talking about the sports side of things, conversations regarding “TikTok shirts” are mixed. There are those who smart shame them, like what Abella pointed out. Others take the more inclusive route, prioritizing educating them instead of having a “can’t roll with us” mindset. The latter should be the case, shares renowned football broadcaster and analyst Ryan Fenix.

“In a country where some people think of football as an ‘elitist’ sport, I think it’s time we educate those who don’t know the sport yet, and convert them to fans,” he says.

Have you bought your own pair of "black Fly Emirates" tops recently?

Former football writer Bob Guerrero agrees with his colleague’s sentiment.



"I’m perfectly okay with that. Whatever promotes sport helps. It doesn’t bother me. We shouldn’t be too offended over everything,” he says.



Fenix himself mentioned quite an interesting anecdote from his early beginnings getting acquianted with the sport.



“I remember, long time ago, as I was picking up the sport — I asked an Englishman if I could visit the city of Arsenal, as I wanted to see Henry play. Imagine if I was smart shamed that day, It would have left a sour taste, no?,” recalls Fenix, referring to the Premier League side Arsenal which is based in Islington, London.

Had it been another approach, a young Fenix would have felt offended and tried something else.



Herein lies the problem in football in the Philippines: in spite of many grassroot efforts throughout the years, many still think the sport is reserved for the richer middle up to the higher classes of society. When juxtaposed with basketball, football falls far behind in being interesting to the youth, as well as the “masses.”



Some think it’s easy to put up makeshift hoops wherever. You can easily see them in any corner of the country. You just need that and any rubber ball. Whereas for football, there’s a notion that you still have to buy specialized boots, long socks, shin guards, and have a big space to accommodate goal posts. And youngsters don’t have the time and resources for those.



That is a discussion for another day. But if supposed purists are going to set a boundary while being judgmental towards the TikTok populace — mostly in that said “masses” category — then they aren’t doing anything to advance sport awareness and popularity either.

Football has always been inclusive. There is no place for racism in the sport. The recent news of the Premier League allowing clubs to wear rainbow-colored captain’s arm bands as part of the Rainbow Laces movement to support the LGBT community is further testament to that.

Rather than a you-can’t-roll-with-us mindset, opening doors and extending football’s reach should be the way to go.



“Awareness on the jerseys can be awareness for the clubs involved, and hopefully it translates to awareness to the sport too. Is it too much to ask that it become awareness to Philippine football as well, soon?,” asks Fenix. “I hope it generates more awareness for the sport, and for local football hopefully!”



Tondo F.C. player and youth coach Mark Dennis Balbin suggests correcting what’s wrong on the superficial level, but maintaining the trendiness for it to move the right direction.



“For me, as a football fan and supporter, we must do a proper trend regarding this matter,” he says. “Do not offend the people who are wearing this wrong branding. There are many ways in this time of social media hype … just think of the best way to make it trendy and educational.”



Living in Tondo, an area in Manila near its port and sometimes maligned for its high poverty incidence and crime rates, Balbin has been a staunch advocate of “futkal,” or street football which incorporates the foundations of futsal.



Along with his fellow players, Balbin has succeeded in putting up Tondo F.C., which competes in several local seven-a-side tournaments across the metro. They have also expanded to youth clubs, sharing the same passion with Tondo’s children while ensuring they do not fall victim to the temptation of several vices growing up.



To top it off, Tondo F.C. has even secured a partnership with the City of Manila Mayor’s Office to further promote the sport in the locale.



The efforts of Balbin and his contemporaries transcend the notion that football is only reserved for the country’s elites. The current TikTok craze only adds to that dynamic.



“Having other fashion trends with football brands (club names, sponsors) is part of promoting the sport,” adds Balbin. “It’s okay to have other shirts inspired by it like dusters or tie-dyed shirts.”



Like Abella pointed out, Balbin also thinks the only problem with the viral trend are the uber-obvious ones, like having two club crests in one shirt or mixed up sponsors.



“Foreigners might see them and wonder why is it like that? They can just fix those little issues, like having Real Madrid and Manchester City in one jersey or having F.C. Barcelona sponsored by Fly Emirates and with adidas stripes,” stresses Balbin.



“Educate them, don’t humiliate them. There are many ways to educate while not hurting or stepping on ego. If they feel it’s still supposed to be called ‘Rakuten’ or ‘Fly Emirates,’ we can’t do anything because that’s their mindset. But we can, with educational videos, try to change that.”



One commenter in the Philippine football group, Kerson Graza, even asked: “Why is it that we love talking about these things, but when it’s time to talk about local football or clubs, we’re silent?”



Indeed, if the world’s most popular sport is to shoot itself into a level that’s higher that what it is now in the Philippines, perhaps the TikTok craze is an odd and unexpected but welcomed catalyst.



If the entire trend leads to more and more downloading the app and purchasing kits, and those actions generate more awareness and curiosity, then that is a ripple effect that will trickle down to football and serve as a win for the beautiful game.■