# Football shirts made by workers paid £1 an hour

> Workers earn less than £1 an hour to make Premier League shirts.
- Title: Football shirts made by workers paid £1 an hour · BBC Sport
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: cambodia, premier league, arsenal, liverpool, celtic, aston villa, adidas, trax apparel, bowker garment factory, football shirts, wage, shirts
- Source: BBC Sport — https://bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx2lggyz2wgo
- Published: 2026-10-08T05:20:14.421+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cambodia, premier league, arsenal, liverpool, celtic, aston villa, adidas, trax apparel, bowker garment factory, football shirts, wage, shirts
## 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
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 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 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
The Premier League expects clubs to carry out appropriate due diligence on their kit manufacturers and supply chains.
## Key takeaway

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