How much it costs to show your true footy colours
FOOTY fans are facing hip-pocket pain decking themselves out in AFL team colours with escalating expenses of guernseys, scarfs and other gear leaving supporters high and dry.
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FOOTY fans are facing hip- pocket pain decking themselves out in AFL team colours.
The cost of tickets, food and drinks at games has riled fans for years. Now, escalating expenses of guernseys, scarfs and other gear is also leaving supporters high and dry.
The AFL’s official merchandise site this week listed adult “home’’ club jumpers for sale at $109.99, women’s and kids’ guernseys for $89.99 and infants’ jumpers for $79.99.
Keen fans might also face the cost of “clash” jumpers, retro jumpers, and jumpers for themed games such as Dreamtime at the ’G and Anzac Day.
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Richmond fan Phil Joyce spent about $90 each on Tigers jumpers for his children, Isabelle, 5, and Jessica, 3, but said he bought bigger sizes so they could grow into them.
Collingwood supporter Marcia Cook, who takes her granddaughter from Geelong to Melbourne to watch the Pies, said: “It must be very hard if you’ve got two or three children you take to the footy.
“It is expensive.’’
Bedding, backpacks, keyrings, collectable toy cars, umbrellas and underpants in team colours are available.
But fans say they are being charged too much, and that more of their hard-earned should go to their clubs rather than the AFL or retailers.
Of about $100 spent on an AFL jumper, it is believed about $50 goes to the retailer, $15 to the club, $10 to the AFL, and $25 to the sports brand making the guernsey.
Collingwood fan Jamie Crimmins, who has kitted his kids Conor, 8, and Abbey, 9, in Pies gear, said retailers were pushing prices too high.
“For working families, it would be hard,’’ he said.
AFL spokesman Jay Allen said team products were available for fans to purchase at “every price point’’.
“There are many offers, including club membership benefits, to ensure fans have many options to show their colours,” Mr Allen said.
After Richmond’s 37-year drought-breaking premiership last season, the club experienced 2½ years’ worth of online sales of club merchandise in just three months.
The Tigerland Superstore was on Friday selling premiership guernseys — home and away — for $149.95.
But the club gives members a 10 per cent discount and passes on 5 per cent of sales to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. Proceeds of sales of Dreamtime jumpers go to the Korin Gamadji Institute.
Essendon fans logging into the AFL site could choose from no fewer than 14 jumpers, from a 2015 children’s clash guernsey for $32 to a retro jumper for $199.
Bombers fans could also buy home, away, training, Auskick, Anzac Day, Indigenous Round, women’s, infants’, youth, and a “baby’s first’’ jumper worth $99.
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