It’s common that from season to season, teams change their football kits. It may be an altered shade of red, a new shirt sponsor or a design refresh to keep up sales each year.
Sports stores are quick to reflect the changes to match the demand.
But this year, walking through the markets of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, one change stands out more than any other. A sea of yellow and blue shirts has flooded the market, that of the Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr FC.
This time last year, few if any Al-Nassr shirts would have been found. Shirts were limited to the European clubs of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and few more of Europe’s elite. But, since the move of Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s hard not to spot the Saudi Arabian club across Baghdad.
It’s not necessarily about the team; each of the shirts being sold has Ronaldo’s name and number printed on the back. On occasions, the shirts are displayed back-facing.
Jassim Khedhyr, an avid 17-year-old football fan and sales assistant at a sports store in Baghdad clarified: “Sometimes Iraqis just support a person. We follow him wherever he goes.
“Like when (Lionel) Messi went to PSG, suddenly PSG became popular here,” he added.
It is not surprising that arguably the two greatest players of modern times are at the heart of this trend.
“From when children were young here, the big football rivalry that trended in Iraq was between Messi and Ronaldo,” said Ali.
And it’s true that for years most people in Iraq supported either Messi’s Barcelona or Ronaldo’s Real Madrid. The passion has been so fierce over the years, that occasionally the El Clásico games turn violent.
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo late last year signed a two-year deal with Al-Nassr in what was described as the ‘biggest transfer in Saudi Arabia’s history’. (Twitter: @AlNassrFC_EN)
“So, when the player moves, the supporters follow the player,” Ali said.
It has helped that relations between the two countries continue to strengthen. Tourism has opened between the nations as Saudi has begun issuing travel permits to Iraq as part of the Tawasul service on the Absher platform.
“But it’s not just Iraq,” explained Ali. “The Al-Nassr shirts can be found across the globe.”
And sometime in the most unexpected places.
An Arab News correspondent recently attended El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid and found himself amid a plethora of Ronaldo-branded Al-Nassr shirts for sale in the Catalan capital. The shirt of a former Madrid player now playing for an Arab team being sold in Barcelona is not something that would have been easily imagined only a few months ago.
Meanwhile, many social media influencers and content creators see the Ronaldo shirt as the latest must-have accessory for their latest clips.
“Al-Nassr FC are very smart,” said Ali. “They have five versions of the shirt,” he added, referring to the home, away, third and training versions of the kit. “Each color is very expensive.”
Today you don’t see many other Saudi team shirts in sports stores across Iraq.
“But if the rumors are to be believed and Messi ends up playing for Al-Hillal, I’ll be selling his shirt there too, don’t worry,” Ali said.
