Football shirts made by workers paid £1 an hour

Workers earn less than £1 an hour to make Premier League shirts.

Oct 8, 2026

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Football shirts made by workers paid £1 an hour

Workers earn less than £1 an hour to make Premier League shirts.

In brief

Workers earn less than £1 an hour to make Premier League shirts. Workers in Cambodia earn less than £1 an hour to produce official Premier League football shirts. Originally reported by BBC Sport.

Workers paid less than £1 an hour

BBC Sport found workers in Cambodia earn less than £1 an hour to make official Premier League football shirts.

Factories in Cambodia produce kits

BBC Sport traced authentic replica shirts to two factories in Cambodia: Bowker Garment Factory and Trax Apparel.

Workers make 600 shirts a day

Workers make 600 shirts a day

Employees at Bowker Garment Factory and Trax Apparel make up to 700 items a day as part of a production line.

Factory temperatures exceed 35C

Workers reported factory temperatures above 35C with humidity levels of 57.6%.

Workers face verbal abuse

Workers described verbal abuse when production targets were missed and electrical safety concerns.

Adidas supplies eight Premier League teams

Adidas supplies eight Premier League teams

Adidas supplies eight of the 20 Premier League teams, plus Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Workers earn $210-$220 monthly

Workers receive basic monthly salaries of $210-$220 (£158-£166) with overtime bringing total earnings to about $300 (£226).

One shirt costs two weeks' salary

Workers say one shirt costs more than two weeks' salary for a worker.

Adidas claims fair wages

Adidas claims fair wages

Adidas says average net wages across its Cambodian suppliers are 34% above living-wage benchmarks.

Shirt prices rose 50.7% over decade

The average price of an adult replica Premier League shirt has risen by 50.7% over the past decade.

Counterfeit shirts sold for £12

Counterfeit shirts are sold for as little as £12, but police warn they are unsafe and violate workers' rights.

Premier League expects clubs to check suppliers

Premier League expects clubs to check suppliers

The Premier League expects clubs to carry out appropriate due diligence on their kit manufacturers and supply chains.

What it means

Workers in Cambodia earn less than £1 an hour to produce official Premier League football shirts.

Read the original on BBC Sport

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