With the 2026/27 Premier League season kicking off, football shirt sales are entering one of their busiest periods of the year and so too, is the counterfeit trade. To coincide with the new season, global brand protection specialist Corsearch is highlighting research which found that 40% of football shirt mystery boxes purchased online contained counterfeit products.
Beyond the consumer warning lies a much bigger story for IP professionals. The investigation demonstrates how professional test purchasing is evolving from a traditional evidence-gathering exercise into a critical intelligence capability, enabling brands to uncover sophisticated counterfeiting networks, map illicit supply chains and strengthen enforcement strategies in an increasingly complex digital marketplace.
In the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Corsearch purchased a range of football shirt mystery boxes from independent websites, online marketplaces and social media sellers at various price points. Working alongside football clubs and sponsors to authenticate each item, the investigation found that many products were counterfeit, with 70% of confirmed infringements originating from marketplace sellers, primarily from independent retailers selling boxes for less than £30.
As counterfeit products become more convincing, it is often impossible to determine authenticity from online listings alone. Professionally managed test purchases allow rights holders to obtain physical evidence, authenticate products, analyze packaging and manufacturing quality, identify fulfilment routes and payment methods, and gather intelligence that can support enforcement action against sophisticated counterfeit networks.
Unfortunately, however, brands frequently fall into the DIY test purchases trap. Driven by budgetary constraints, brands often assume it is cheaper to conduct test purchases in-house rather than hiring an expert partner. Without the necessary resources and experience, this can often lead to critical and costly mistakes.
Lauren Williams, Head of Fashion & Luxury at Corsearch, said: “Football shirt mystery boxes provided an ideal opportunity to understand how sophisticated today’s counterfeit operations have become. Many of the online listings appeared entirely legitimate, making it difficult to distinguish genuine sellers from infringers before a purchase was made. It was only through professional test purchasing and subsequent authentication that the true scale of the problem became clear.
“For IP professionals, test purchasing is about much more than confirming whether an item is counterfeit. When conducted professionally, it provides intelligence that simply cannot be obtained from online monitoring alone, from product quality and packaging through to fulfilment methods and wider seller infrastructure. That evidence helps rights holders build stronger enforcement cases and better understand the networks operating behind counterfeit sales.”
Corsearch’s findings also reinforce the growing challenge facing rights holders during major sporting events, where increased consumer demand creates fresh opportunities for counterfeiters to exploit fans through increasingly sophisticated online sales channels.
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