It is 6 months since we hit the road, and I am astounded to see the extent that Barça (Futbol Club Barcelona or FCB) has penetrated the world. From Dubai, through Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia and even Italy – standing out in front of all the other kits for sale is Barça. They are everywhere, sports shops and souvenir stalls alike. Most of them display Qatar on the front and of course “10 – Messi” on the back, although some places offer to put your name on the back.
And it is not just kits for sale – cars are decorated, towels are sold and kids are dressed in the famous blue and red Barça colours.
Yesterday, in the real Barcelona, I popped into the real Barça shop to see the real kit. This year’s kit looks quite different to what I had seen elsewhere – the typical blue and red stripe was hidden at the back of the store, behind the new orange/yellow away and blue merging to red home colours!
Makes me wonder how many kits I had seen on our travels that were real and licensed to the world’s second-richest (revenue) football club?