England jersey shortage fiasco shows how far we still have to go for equality

Despite the roaring success of the Red Roses this autumn, the sold-out stadiums and the unprecedented coverage, there are not enough England women’s World Cup jerseys available to buy.

Why? Neither Castore, the manufacturers, nor the RFU will confirm how many jerseys were ordered or how many were delivered, but some sources say that Castore delivered about 10% of the number of jerseys ordered by the RFU and there were under 500 matchday replica jerseys available for fans to buy. Neither Castore nor England Rugby has confirmed this figure despite repeated requests from The Observer.

Castore, the British sportswear brand that took over from Umbro as England’s kit supplier earlier this year, admitted the shortfall was the result of a “supply chain issue”. Castore “decline to comment” or elaborate, which is especially jarring given the broader context. Women’s sport in Britain is enjoying unprecedented visibility. Nike told The Observer that they sold a record number of Lionesses shirts during this year’s European Championships, at £84.99 each.

More than 300 of those Lionesses jerseys were sold by Style Of Our Own, a women’s sport pop-up shop that opened on London’s Regent Street in June, but the store was told it would not be able to stock the Red Roses matchday jersey. “It feels like a big missed opportunity, and perhaps naive,” said Doug Cook, Style Of Our Own’s commercial director. “We sold loads of Lionesses jerseys, and arguably there were more places where fans could get them. If we had had the Red Roses jerseys, and given there are fewer rugby shops, I’m sure we could have sold many.”

Cook also works as chief of staff at women’s sports brand IDA Sports, a role that encompasses logistics and operations, and says he is surprised. “I would have thought Castore messing up a supply chain would take months,” he said. “They will use multiple factories, as not all shirts would be made in the same place. If Factory A is struggling, one would think you move production to Factory B. If both were struggling, you notify the client.

“Usually we’d anticipate manufacturers over-ordering to have cover if their client were to sell out. Sometimes that can even be up to 1.2x the number the client thinks they will sell, to make sure the manufacturer has adequate resupply for them.

“I couldn’t imagine this in the men’s game. You would either have some more ready for the client’s reorder, or your factories on standby to produce more of the item and airfreight plans. Mistakes do happen, of course, but for something this important, Castore should have been checking in with their factories to see how many items are shipping. You plan for the thing you think will happen, and for other outcomes too. Enthusiasm for women’s rugby was entirely foreseeable, and a technical shortage should never have happened.”

And it is not the first time Castore, which has 75 kit partnerships including Everton in the Premier League and five Formula One teams, has found itself under the microscope. Aston Villa’s men’s football team previously complained about the weight and sweat absorption of their Castore kits, leading to an early exit from that partnership. Now to see similar scrutiny emerge in rugby raises questions about the company’s ability to deliver at the elite level. But still, Castore will not explain why this happened.

The lack of clarity is almost as frustrating as the shortage itself. England are hosting the biggest women’s rugby event the world has seen. The organisers and the players have delivered on the grand stage, but the absence of something as basic as replica shirts for supporters jars with the narrative of professionalism and progress.

The jerseys themselves are unique to the World Cup. Unlike the regular Red Roses kit, they feature a clean design with red trim and no sponsor branding, in line with tournament rules. It should have been a collectors’ item, worn as a mark of the legacy this tournament will have, especially if England, the tournament favourites, go on to win. Fans can buy Red Roses cowboy hats, keyrings, a non-matchday jersey and jackets among other things, which the RFU says fans have had a “huge appetite” for.

It would be easy to dismiss the shortage as an inconvenience, something minor compared with the sport itself. After all, the Red Roses will still take to the field, and their supporters will still sing. But shirts matter. They are the most visible link between the stands and the pitch, between casual fans and committed followers. In a sport trying to broaden its reach, denying people that chance feels like a serious missed opportunity.

This World Cup should be a celebration of progress. In many ways, it already is. Record-breaking ticket sales, packed stadiums from Sunderland to Brighton, unprecedented TV viewing figures – these are landmarks worth shouting about. But against that backdrop, the jersey fiasco feels like a reminder of how far there is still to go.

Photograph by Morgan Harlow – World Rugby via Getty Images