{
  "id": 12820878,
  "title": "Inside the £1-an-hour official football shirt factories",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/inside-the-1-an-hour-official-football-shirt-factories-12820878",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-08T05:48:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx2lggyz2wgo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Inside two factories in Cambodia, workers are being paid a basic wage of less than £1 an hour to produce official football shirts for renowned clubs such as Arsenal, Celtic, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, according to an investigation by BBC Sport. The grim working conditions at these factories have been revealed through images and firsthand accounts from employees. The factories, Bowker Garment Factory and Trax Apparel, are primary suppliers to Adidas, which supplies eight of the 20 Premier League teams. Despite Adidas' claims of ensuring fair and safe working conditions, workers describe struggling to make ends meet and working on up to 700 items a day. The Clean Clothes Campaign, a global workers' rights network, described the findings as painting a \"very grim picture.\" Research suggests that a typical £85 shirt has a relatively small portion of its cost attributed to fabric, sewing, and shipping, while a significant amount goes to retailers, manufacturers, marketing, and VAT. Shirt prices have increased over the past decade, and the sportswear giant, Adidas, has taken measures to ensure fair working conditions for its supply chain for over 25 years. However, the investigation highlights the stark contrast between Adidas' claims and the workers' experiences, with employees describing health issues, verbal abuse, and inadequate working conditions.",
  "summary": "A BBC Sport investigation traces official football shirt production to factories in Cambodia where workers are paid less than £1 an hour.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Inside the £1-an-hour official football shirt factories",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/inside-the-1-an-hour-official-football-shirt-factories",
        "published": "2026-10-08T05:48:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}