Freitag, 23. Mai 2025

Iraq 2

 

This shirt is simply ridiculous. It looks completely off for Iraq, which mostly had very plain and basic shirts throughout its history. Apart from this, obviously. It was the second design Givova did for the Iraqis and it has a massive lion as an imprint, as well as cuneiform scripts all over the shirt.Given that I have actually been to Iraqi-Kurdistan for a vacation in 2021, seeing cuneiform in remote abandoned aqueducts, I was immediately fond of this shirt and thus got it shortly after its release, paying 60€ish for it at the time.

Now comes the sad part: This design was presented in 2020, when suddenly COVID kicked in and plenty of the Iraqi matches were cancelled. Before they could actually wear it, the FA decided to move on to Umbro, who gave them a perfectly boring plain template again. In other words: They never actually wore this beauty, unfortunately. Yet, I do love the shirt and am more than pleased to add it to the collection - only if just as a little memory of my trip to see cuneiform in the wild.

Laos 4 & 5

 


vs. Brunei (3:0) | SEA Games | 2019 in Philippines
vs. Cambodia (0:3) | AFF Championship | 2021 in Singapore   

While Laos is a relatively small country with a semi-successful national team, their shirts have long been available, mostly thanks to Weston, a brilliant Singapore-based football shop that sells almost all of the South East Asian kits. Yet, I was never really thrilled by any of the shirts and thus never really bought a lot of them.

The 2020 home one, the red one above, however, is actually nice. It is a bit bold, but I like that. It definitely sticks out for a Laos shirt. It is produced by GrandSport, who always have been a powerhouse in that region and when it came online on Weston, I simply had to get myself one. As I was already on the shop, I snapped up the away one, too, setting me back a combined 80€ approximately.

Dienstag, 20. Mai 2025

Laos 3

 


Unknown Player
vs. Cambodia (2:1) | AFF Championship | 2004 in Vietnam

This is a bit of a curious shirt. I got my hands on this for just 35€, but am not sure about its authenticity. It is manufactured by the company King Tiger, which I think is the Laotian brand of Tiger beer - which also manufacturer Singapore shirts once. Seeing that and drawing that connection immediately peaked my interest, which is why I snapped it up.

Since then, I could indeed confirm that the Laotian national team used to wear shirts of King Tiger, using exactly that logo, too. However, I was unable to find a picture of this exact shirt in use. If you ever see one, please do give me a shout! So long, I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for it to be legit!

Maldives 3 & 4

 

Unknown Player
vs. Malaysia (0:3) | Friendly | 2022 in Malaysia

Unknown Player
vs. Singapore (1:3) | Friendly | 2022 in Singapore

Following my two boring red Adidas templates with a Maldives patch, I finally got some new Maldives shirt. Another plain red shirt with a badge - and admittedly a tiny little detail at the arms and the collar - and the blue counterpart. Nothing about it does really excite me, apart from the brand. They are made by Captain International, a brand that I think never equipped any other team. So, I am happy adding another manufacturer, at least.

Maldives 2

 


Unknown Player
vs. Turkmenistan (1:3) | AFC Challenge Cup | 2012 in Turkmenistan

My first Maldives shirt was an absolutely terribly boring red Adidas template with a badge. This one, in contrast, is exactly the same. So really, I cannot say anything about it, other than that. It bores me just to think about it...

Nepal 3

 


Unknown Player
vs. Mauritius (1:0) | Friendly | 2022 in Nepal

On my photograph, this might look like a hi-vis vest of your local garbage collector - but it is actually a Nepal national team shirt by the small Kathmandu based brand "KTM CTY", which I can only assume stands for Kathmandu City. That brand alone, of course, makes this shirt super appealing to me. You know of my weird love for obscure brands by now.

But this shirt actually has a few more nice features: For one, it is super rare, as it was only sold in Kathmandu. I got mine from a tourist who went to Nepal in 2022, when the national team briefly used the brand, for about 40€. Secondly, it does indeed have hi vis elements, which makes you perfectly safe when riding home on your bike after training. Just in case, I guess. And only from the front, of course. And lastly, it does have the outline of the Sagarmatha on the front, the highest mountain on earth. Overall, it is just a brilliant design and I would have wished KTM CTY would have gotten a second shirt in equipping Nepal - or any team, really.

Samstag, 10. Mai 2025

North Korea 3

 

Now this is my third North Korea shirt and it is a bit dubious. It was sold to me as a matchworn shirt of Jong Tae Se, the "North Korean Rooney" that once played in my city Cologne. However, I fail to find any proof that North Korea ever actually sported this design. That doesn't have to rule out it's authenticity, though, as North Korea played in a bunch of weird makeshift shirts for a single match at some point. They even played in Venezuela shirts with duct tape over the Venezuela badge once.

I will not say it is a matchworn North Korea shirt, but I cannot say it isn't either. Either way, it is a nice longsleeve shirt and a nice memory of Jong Tae Se, who once was seen as a massive talent and then brutally failed in his time in Germany.