Jersey Swap A Ritual of Sportsmanship

Home

The jersey swap is the exchange of jerseys at the end of a soccer match. Between players, the ritual is seen as a sign of respect between opponents.

The ritual is believed to have first taken place in 1931 when France beat England for the first time ever. The ecstatic French players asked the English players for their jerseys as keepsakes. The English players happily obliged.

Nowadays the jerseys are more of a commodity rather than a keepsake. In 2002 a family of an Italian player who had swapped jerseys with soccer legend Pelè in the 1970 World Cup sold a jersey worn by Pelè for a whopping $310,000.