Shirts and Semiotics: How English Premier League Replica Shirts Function as Indicators of British Soft Power

This article argues that the international sale and wearing of replica English Premier League (EPL) shirts constitute a measure of British soft power. The wearing of replica shirts is understood around the world as an expression of fan identification with a specific club. As Western European football has become increasingly commercialized, the purchase and use of replica EPL shirts by non-UK audiences presents an opportunity to measure the international ‘seduction’ of British soft power. I argue that this ‘seduction’ is demonstrated through the integration (a sense of shared identity and belonging) with the EPL 一 a British soft power asset which improves international perceptions of the UK 一 that the wearing of a replica shirt signifies. Current scholarship on semiotics and football shirts is developed through a unique approach that blends material culture, soft power, and sports diplomacy to explain how fans wearing EPL replica shirts demonstrate an often-lifelong positive reception to British soft power which can be measured through analyzing annual sales figures of these replica shirts in different regions. This article therefore represents a new field in the study of soft power and sports diplomacy by helping to answer the difficult question of how to measure cultural influence.