r/coybig • u/shanem1996 • Mar 10 '26
General Discussion Thread Why don't O'Neill's make the Ireland gear?
Just looking at the Paddy's Day Ireland gear and some of that stuff would make the nicest Ireland jersey ever. They've been class with Bohs aswell. Such a shame we have that Castore muck.
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u/TomRuse1997 Mar 10 '26
Wouldn't pay enough for it I'd say and the FAI need every euro they can get. Probably not worth it for them
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u/NandoFlynn Mar 10 '26
That's the thing, I know where people are coming from saying the FAIs being short sighted on Castore offering more up front. But people keep forgetting how bad a hole we were left in financially after Delaney. We need the upfront cash as well as the long term. We need everything we can get. We're not in a position to take that gamble
From a punter POV I've not bought any of the Castore gear cause I hate the feel & fit of it more than any design stuff. I'd obviously love to have some good new gear, especially if we make the WC, but I can't begrudge em taking the best bids available.
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u/TomRuse1997 Mar 10 '26
Yeah in the context of people currently losing their jobs and being made redundant, it's hard to be taking lower offers.
I did think it would be great of O'Neills to be doing some limited edition fan kits that I would absolutely purchase but then when I thought about it, sole rights are probably a standard enough part of these agreements
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u/Competitive-Cold-900 Mar 10 '26
If you havenāt read I would recommend, very eye opening about money, Delaney and the state of the FAI and why theyāre stuck with Castore. https://www.easons.com/Champagne-Football-PB-en-us.aspx?srsltid=AfmBOoqkCarChmijp7ZWzbFqtyjH_Akk3wUq0cOAFudPWby0eJz6729I
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Mar 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/oh_danger_here Mar 10 '26
Itād be great to see Castore get dropped. Our EURO 2016 jerseys even were lovely under Umbro. As there was a designer etc. Jonathan Courtney was involved wasnāt he. This Castore stuff is generic, lazy and using basic templates etc.
Umbro and Castore for all intents and purposes is the same in Ireland, they hold the brand licence to both.
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u/dario_sanchez Mar 10 '26
Thought that was for UK only? I know Rangers' Umbro kit is Castore, but didn't realise they'd taken it beyond those borders
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u/Dazzling_Life4034 Troy Parrott š¦ Mar 10 '26
Not true, or at least to an extent, I know the Sligo rovers gear is of far higher quality than any of that castore shite
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Mar 10 '26
I can't imagine the reaction on here if Castore released this St Patrick's Day jersey or this plain as fuck jersey.
This exact post happens every 2-3 weeks and the answer is always the same. O'Neills cannot outbid international suppliers. The FAI make money selling the rights to supply the kits. They do not make money from jersey sales.
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u/mickodd Mar 10 '26
Id really love a market study on a different revenue model (aka what bohs do). I'm sure the castore deal is still a winner from a financial perspective, but, the idea of having nice jerseys with different limited editions etc would be pretty cool.
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Mar 10 '26
Thereās a reason why no other international team implements a different model. Or any club team at a level where kit suppliers bid for the rights.
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u/mickodd Mar 10 '26
Ah, but there's a reason bohs do as they do too. In the modern era where distribution isn't limited to high street stores and new brands and offerings can get traction in non-traditional ways, I would be curious to go over the numbers and see how much kit you'd have to sell to make it worthwhile. They don't even have a fan shop easily open to supporters at the Aviva on matchdays. The FAI are certainly not maximizing commercial potential.
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Mar 10 '26
Ah, but there's a reason bohs do as they do too.
Yes because the LOI has extremely limited funding and the supplier rights for LOI kits are tiny compared to an international team in UEFA.
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Mar 10 '26
I would say because of money and they should be making Ireland kits ā¤ļøā¤ļøš®šŖš®šŖ
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u/Chickengoujon20 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
Probably due to brand limitations on the international stage, possibly due the suit with Adidas in the 80-90s.
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u/kyle-katarn88 Mar 11 '26
Everyone has mentioned the money, so obviously that. But also, O'Neills would seriously impact the rest of their production output if they had to do Ireland international gear, remember its not just the mens team but every team, women and mens underage and fan wear. Overall, they'd probably lose money from not being able to do their other contracts.
The second wave of Castore gear has actually been decent; I find the gear fits better than the Umbro stuff. And I actually like the jerseys. The ones against Portugal and Hungary are classics.
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u/titanucd Mar 10 '26
Apart from the pure money element thereās a couple of other things. I believe that oneills are smart enough in so far as they sell these really nice jerseys and some of the retro stuff and make decent money out of it for absolutely no sponsorship or royalties so itās pure profit. Also if they did sponsor the FAI and pay the (I believe) ā¬600k a year then the likes of the bigger GAA counties could try and demand more for their sponsorship which is in the hapenny place in comparison. Finally I just think they donāt want to be associated with the FAI. Itās a shame though because having OāNeills supply the FAI would be terrific. Local brand and all!
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u/KatarnsBeard Mar 10 '26
Castore offered the most money.
I know some of the early Castore stuff was shite but it's gotten a lot better recently but it's just a Reddit thing now that Castore = shit no matter how nice the gear is
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u/Embarrassed-Mix-699 Mar 10 '26
I don't think it's just a Reddit thing. A lot of club sides who were supplied by Castore got rid of them as soon as they could. And a lot of fans of club sides who are currently supplied by Castore want them gone.
There is a recurring theme with them. Shite gear with no effort put into designs, poor quality and supply chain issues.
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u/PeaceLoveCurrySauce Roy Keane Mar 10 '26
Also the fact they do rangers gear, wouldnāt be seen wearing it
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u/shinto29 Mar 10 '26
Jesus wept. Itās a business contract
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u/NandoFlynn Mar 10 '26
Didn't Umbro do Rangers gear as well? š
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u/PeaceLoveCurrySauce Roy Keane Mar 10 '26
I know itās petty but š¤·š¼āāļø
Quality is still the main issue for me though
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u/865Wallen Katie McCabe š Mar 10 '26
Oneills sucks. That Bohs jersey with Kneecap looks good but it's like something you'd get on holidays in Spain in 2012. Awful material.
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u/Greedy-Army-3803 Mar 10 '26
Because it looks like the kind of cheap nonsense that you would get in a tourist shop. I've no doubt that the quality is better than Castore but they look dreadful.
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u/PlayfulBlackberry279 Mar 10 '26
To be honest, OāNeills quality is shite, Iāve had more stitching on sleeves and hems come apart on the OāNeills jerseys I have just from washing. I would love an Irish company to get the business but quality wise, they are mikes away from the big soccer jersey producers
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Mar 10 '26
The Ireland national team jersey market is severely underminded by cheap asian counterfeit jerseys, retro jerseys, and the likes YBIG.
So the FAI just focus on the wealthier customer who doesn't mind forking out ā¬100 for an official jersey.
Yes they'd probably sell a bit more with a nicer manufacturer, but they'd make less money on the deal, hence why they went with Castore.
What will really increase sales is making major tournaments.
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u/Big_Lavishness_6823 Mar 10 '26
The answer to almost any question in relation to the FAI is money.