Microchips used in football kits for the first time in the UK

Brentford FC became the first English football club to wear match-day shirts with microchips, designed to prove authenticity and prevent the counterfeiting of player-worn kits.  

In their Premier League match against Everton yesterday, Brentford players wore shirts featuring NFC (near-field communication) chips which are scanned by a mobile phone to confirm who wore the shirt and when. This technology has been introduced by the company Fabricks. Match-worn shirts can fetch a hefty price tag with some listed online for as much as £1,000, but counterfeiters will seize this opportunity to make a quick profit from fake goods. 

The size of the counterfeit football kit problem is significant, so it is encouraging to see an English club making changes to try to tackle the issue. Rio Ferdinand has also announced this week that he has partnered with the company Cifr.io to specifically target this problem through use of unclonable product authentication blockchain microchip technology. It will be interesting to see whether this type of technology can be applied to all football kits sold to consumers, as the problem does not just affect match-worn items.