International Football Shirts

[Caveman Ninja]

It's the rebirth of my thread all about my gratuitously enormous collection of international football shirts! In case you didn't know and actually care, I collected an international shirt from every international team in FIFA, and several others besides. I currently have almost 600 shirts in the wardrobe. You can see the collection at my blog at www.theglobalobsession.com.

I have a backlog of 50 or so shirts to add to my blog (have been very lazy with it since having a baby in the house!) but I actually blogged one today for the first time in a year and a half (WARNING: POST CONTAINS HARRY ARTER):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1563185699138174976

 

[Strummer]

OMG. I only just realised, the demise of (a substantial proposition) of the old „Football Banter“ sub-forum in the bollocks that hastened the demise of the old Forum software has killed ‚Ninja‘s original thread - one of my personal favourites.

 

[Strummer]

Anyway, as compensation, here is my George Weah Liberia shirt - I think Caveman Ninja has one of these as well:

 

[Strummer]

And yes, there is a story behind it - when I lived in Paris in the 90s, George Weah was playing for PSG (just before he left for Milan) and the apartment I rented, next door were two Liberian chaps, who I eventually got on speaking terms with and were lovely fellows.

Anyway, we were often sharing a beer or two, and eventually one of them gave me this Liberia replica shirt, with George‘s number on the back. It has remained one of my personal favourites, mainly for the memories it holds.

 

[Morpeth]

It's the rebirth of my thread all about my gratuitously enormous collection of international football shirts! In case you didn't know and actually care, I collected an international shirt from every international team in FIFA, and several others besides. I currently have almost 600 shirts in the wardrobe. You can see the collection at my blog at www.theglobalobsession.com.

I have a backlog of 50 or so shirts to add to my blog (have been very lazy with it since having a baby in the house!) but I actually blogged one today for the first time in a year and a half (WARNING: POST CONTAINS HARRY ARTER):

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1563185699138174976

That is superb.
And I always find it weird to see what people look like after just building up a mental picture.
Did you buy all of them or are any donated?

 

[Caveman Ninja]

And yes, there is a story behind it - when I lived in Paris in the 90s, George Weah was playing for PSG (just before he left for Milan) and the apartment I rented, next door were two Liberian chaps, who I eventually got on speaking terms with and were lovely fellows.

Anyway, we were often sharing a beer or two, and eventually one of them gave me this Liberia replica shirt, with George‘s number on the back. It has remained one of my personal favourites, mainly for the memories it holds.

That's a lovely story! People are nice eh.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

That is superb.
And I always find it weird to see what people look like after just building up a mental picture.
Did you buy all of them or are any donated?

Cheers! Quite a few donated. Sudan was impossible to track down but eventually received as a gift from the UK Ambassador. The captain of Congo Prince Oniangue sent me his shirt from the 2015 AFCON. A Montserrat player called Dean Mason picked me up a shirt while he was over there the first time he made the squad. A documentary maker in Tanzania sent me a shirt as she had a contact with the men's team. People have been great really!

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Cheers! Quite a few donated. Sudan was impossible to track down but eventually received as a gift from the UK Ambassador. The captain of Congo Prince Oniangue sent me his shirt from the 2015 AFCON. A Montserrat player called Dean Mason picked me up a shirt while he was over there the first time he made the squad. A documentary maker in Tanzania sent me a shirt as she had a contact with the men's team. People have been great really!

The full stories on those can be found in the blog posts...

Sudan

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

Republic of Congo

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

Montserrat

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

Tanzania

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Some of the best stories:

This Azerbaijan shirt was once owned by the Pope: https://www.theglobalobsession.com/2015/05/azerbaijan.html

I bought this fake Malawi shirt from David James' bankruptcy auction:

Malawi

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

This shirt was seen in articles around the world when the wearer scored the goal in Bhutan's first ever World Cup qualifier victory, prompting a million 'worst team in the world win a game shocker' articles:

Bhutan

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

And this is a (very) long read about the media madness that followed the completion of the quest: https://www.theglobalobsession.com/2017/07/how-it-all-ended.html

 

[Strummer]

That blog has cost me hours of time, reading it.

(Do yourself a favour, and dive in - it is well worth it)

 

[Caveman Ninja]

That blog has cost me hours of time, reading it.

(Do yourself a favour, and dive in - it is well worth it)

Cheers! It's always nice to hear that someone actually reads it

 

[Viktor]

Chuffed that this thread is back!

 

[Strummer]

Cheers! It's always nice to hear that someone actually reads it

I think I have probably read it all; I remember once a couple of years back, I had gotten on the ICE train for a trip to Berlin (5,5 hours or so) and I clicked on a link to one page… aaaaaand that was it, and the next I knew, I was nearly at Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Talk about going down a rabbit hole.

 

[Danga]

Actually saw this the other day and thought of you ninja!

I picked this up from sports direct at shirebrook the other week. Love the badge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Actually saw this the other day and thought of you ninja!

I picked this up from sports direct at shirebrook the other week. Love the badge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha ha, I bought the Lesotho actually! Arrived on Tuesday. Not their best shirt but for that money it just had to be done!

The Iceland is a step down from their Errea shirts but I do dig the badge.

 

[Carlos]

I've got a beauty I'll have to dig out. I was on exercise in Oman and the local shopkeeper could get hold of anything so I asked him for an Omani national shirt. Off he went into town and the next day he came back with what he described as a "genuine replica"

Oman shirt, Fila Label, Adidas stripes and a goalkeepers name on the back of an outfield players kit. Absolute gem and my absolute favourite shirt, only cost me about 20p too

 

[Caveman Ninja]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1571887006543667206

 

[Caveman Ninja]

I've got a beauty I'll have to dig out. I was on exercise in Oman and the local shopkeeper could get hold of anything so I asked him for an Omani national shirt. Off he went into town and the next day he came back with what he described as a "genuine replica"

Oman shirt, Fila Label, Adidas stripes and a goalkeepers name on the back of an outfield players kit. Absolute gem and my absolute favourite shirt, only cost me about 20p too

I love that kind of stuff. My favourite is this Uganda shirt - can you see what the fakers got wrong?

Uganda

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Just blogged this cracker!

Iceland

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

 

[Bonfy177]

Just blogged this cracker!

Iceland

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

Your 2014 Guatemala shirt with the blue sash is a beauty

 

[Strummer]

Just blogged this cracker!

Iceland

Follow one man's attempt to assemble a collection containing an international football shirt from all 211 countries in FIFA

www.theglobalobsession.com

That is a magnificent example.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Your 2014 Guatemala shirt with the blue sash is a beauty

It's not bad, simple but in a classy way, although I prefer their dark blue away with the white sash. Also if it's sashes we're talking then this is my absolute favourite...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1253360313220714499

 

[Caveman Ninja]

That is a magnificent example.

It's nice eh! Been after a match-spec Iceland shirt for quite a while, good to have one down.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572955422197170177

 

[Strummer]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572955422197170177

That is incredible, a thing of beauty.