Fiji 2

 

Unknown Players
vs. Philippines (2:3) | Friendly | 2018 in Philippines

When I started collecting football shirts, it was really hard to get any shirt from 100 of the then 208 FIFA members. That has changed, drastically. Just Classic Football Shirts does probably sell shirts of probably 150 of the now 211 FIFA members - and most the others are relatively easy to find in online shops, too. But then there is Oceania, a continent that barely ever made a big impact on the global football stage. Most of the OFC member shirts are still incredibly hard to come by to this day and there are only a very few matchworn shirts in collections out there. This includes mine, of course.

That said, there is not a lot we are missing when it comes to shirts. Most Oceania shirts have been super bland templates with an FA badge. If they are ever sold, they still usually cost 50 Euro or more, which makes it really hard to argue getting any, unless you are doing the 211. Personally, I was among the few collectors that raided Lotto New Zealand ages ago and just bought all (but New Caledonia and New Zealand) OFC shirts from them. They are all terrible and were still super pricey, but they fill the gaps in the collection, at least.

Now, whenever there is a chance to get another OFC shirt, I try to grab. That was the case with this, again super dull, Fiji shirt by Kappa. It is certainly no beauty, but it came for around 40€, if I recall correctly, and at least adds a second shirt to one of the OFC countries for now. Not great, but fair enough, I guess.