Inside the £1-an-hour official football shirt factories
A BBC Sport investigation traces official football shirt production to factories in Cambodia where workers are paid less than £1 an hour.
An investigation has revealed that workers at factories producing official football shirts for top clubs in England are being paid less than £1 per hour. Bowker Garment Factory and Trax Apparel, located in Cambodia, are the factories behind shirts for clubs like Arsenal, Celtic, Liverpool, and Real Madrid. Employees work on up to 700 items daily, struggling to make ends meet.
The Clean Clothes Campaign described the conditions as "very grim." Shirt prices have risen significantly over the past decade, with only a small portion of the cost going to workers. Adidas, one of the primary suppliers, stated that it has taken measures to ensure fair working conditions, but workers described pressure to meet production targets and verbal abuse when targets were missed.
The heat stress in the factories is taking a toll on workers' health, with temperatures reaching 35.2C and humidity at 57.6%. Adidas and Trax Apparel have acknowledged some issues but insist they are addressing them. The unfair pay and working conditions raise questions about the true cost of these popular football shirts.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport Football's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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