The ultimate Shanghai World Cup shopping guide
Kick off World Cup festivies in your favorite team's jersey... and maybe some bedding tooFinally, for one month there will be something equally (or more) important than the Shanghai 2010 Expo to pay attention to, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
What’s on your list for when you're glued to the TV and cheering for your team? We’re guessing beers, instant noodles and coffee, for sure, but add one more thing to the list: World Cup gear.
Here is a list of the best shops and brands to go to for making your football dream come true… fashionably.
The amateur "players" can find every gear in Decathlon.If you're a baller on the field...
Shanghai's one-stop sports shopping haven is Decathlon. They offer everything you can think of to wear while training in search of your own football glory. Think everything from jerseys and shorts to footballs and even professional underwear. We kid you not. Really. Decathlon also has a separate line dedicated to teenagers. They might not need the underwear, but who knows.
The prices are surprisingly wallet friendly, with no-fuss jerseys costing around RMB 50 and professional football sneakers going for RMB 100-300. The only problem for Decathlon is you might be baffled by having too many choices.
Other easy sports wear option are the large international sports brands like Puma, Adidas and Nike. They all have regular football gear on sale year round, but prices may get a bit steep during the World Cup season.
If you want to get more local, Xiaolin House is where most Shanghai football fans go for to get Shanghai Shenhua team goods, but the store also sells football sneakers from Nike and Adidas (starting at RMB 300) as well as training jerseys, shorts (around RMB 50) and athletic jackets (around RMB 300).
For those willing to head to Hongkou, they'll be rewarded with great local sports shops. A most comprehensive one is Shanghai Sports near Fudan University, which sells much more than just football equipments. Apart from the regular round up of international brands, the shop carries Chinese football brands like Star and Huochetou and their prices are more than reasonable -- you're in Hongkou after all.
Those nostalgic for football's glory days can purchase some Warrior professional football boots (钉鞋, dingxie) from Warrior Retails Center in northern Shanghai. Chinese people wore these to play football in the 1980s. This type of shoe, once only worn by footballers and Shaolin monks, has gained a dedicated following in the last few years. Each pair costs RMB 42. If you can’t be bothered to go all the way to Hongkou, both Culture Matters locations sell classic Warrior sneakers (RMB 35).
“The classic Warrior sneakers are our best seller," says Jerry Tian, the founder and owner of Culture Matters. "Although they’re not designed especially for playing football, a lot of people wear them as football boots nowadays.”
Nike's special World-cup line -- Brazil.If you need gear to watch the game...
Unlike football players, hardcore fans might need more than shin guards to show off their team spirit. Step one is to find the right jerseys for your team.
Jerseys for different countries in this World Cup can be bought through different brands.
If you’re for Brazil, Holland, Portugal, the United States, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia or Slovenia, you can find all of their jerseys at the Nike flagship store. Wear them well and enjoy a clean conscience, knowing that your jersey is made of a fabric that’s developed from recycled plastic bottles. Adidas is selling uniforms for Germany, Spain, France, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico, Denmark, Paraguay, Greece and South Africa.
If your team's not on that list, Puma is rounding out the line-up selling jerseys for Italy, Switzerland and Uruguay. It has also released a special line for African team fans with “Africa 10” on the back.
And although the vendors at Qipu Lu, Pudong Science and Technology subway market or Taobao market on Nanjing Lu might swear their goods are the real deal (and with their prices it's hard to disagree), according to a seasoned sports editor at SMG, “If you can find all of them in one shop, they are likely to be fakes.” If you go the local market route, don't walk away paying more than RMB 50-60 for a shirt.
How can you not salute Taobao? They even have World Cup’s bedwear. If you need to accessorize...
Take it to the extreme by accessorizing yourself (or even your home) with your World Cup team's swag.
Chenfeng Sport Equipment Store on Zhongshan Bei Lu offers an amazing number of World Cup accessories from key and mobile ornaments for all of the national teams to uniform-shaped cushions and shopping bags -- and they are all dirt cheap.
Chenfeng Sport Equipment Store also sells World Cup-themed bedding of different national teams and clubs. The real hardcore fans might also want to check out the matching briefs as well.
No one is going to be looking at your phone decorations during the game though, so show your true colors with team-inspired body art. Deck yourself out in your World Cup team's color with body/face paint from Party Box or Party Monster.
