Dorset has been named in the list of top 10 hotspots for counterfeit England football shirts.

Following a rise in the price, the official England football shirt now costs around £85, which means that fans are looking towards cheaper alternatives.

As a result, searches for fake shirts have increased by 515 per cent since the last European Football Championships were held in 2021. June 2024 saw a staggering 177 per cent increase in searches so far compared to June 2021 as reported by Google Trends.

The Ten Percent Club have analysed search volumes for fake England shirts by county around the country, and have ranked Dorset in fourth place. The company conducted an analysis of search volumes for ‘fake England shirts’ across each county, adjusting for population to derive per capita data.

The research found that, whilst the average search volume for fake England shirts was 40 in May, this rose to 369 for June. 

The East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Staffordshire make up the top three regions that have the higher search volumes for fake shirts. Somerset ranked in sixth place.

Fans travelling to Germany have been warned about Germany’s Trademark Act which could impose fines of up to £4,000 for anyone caught with counterfeit merchandise during the tournament.

Luke O'Reily, CEO of Ten Percent Club, said, "The rising cost of official England shirts is driving fans to seek more affordable alternatives, reflecting broader economic pressures."

According to the Ten Percent Club, this trend has resulted in Nike losing at least £6.5 million in sales, with over £2 million spent on counterfeit shirts ahead of the tournament.

The top 10 hotspots for counterfeit England shirts:

  1. East Riding of Yorkshire
  2. South Yorkshire
  3. Staffordshire
  4. Dorset
  5. West Midlands
  6. Somerset
  7. Lincolnshire
  8. County of Bristol
  9. Derbyshire
  10. Nottinghamshire