Fans queue in London before England match for shirts that sold out in minutes online

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nigeria may be about to play England in a friendly football match at Wembley, but it is their eye-catching kit that has captured the public’s imagination – orders have already been placed for 3m of the replica shirts.

Throngs of shoppers queued outside Nike’s flagship store on Oxford Street on Friday morning to get their hands on the top.

okwoche (@okwoche) he queue of people waiting to get their hands on the New Nigeria Jersey today. Watch my report tonight at 1730gmt on BBC Focus On Africa #Nigeria #SuperEagles #Russia2018 pic.twitter.com/UsyxaKxb64

Both the home and away shirts, priced at £64.95, reportedly sold out online within three minutes. The kit sports a feathered pattern in homage to the Nigerian team that made its World Cup debut in 1994.

Finishing top of a group including Argentina and Bulgaria, “Naija”, as the team are known, bowed out in the round of 16 in heartbreaking fashion.

Play Video 2:04 The most eye-catching World Cup kits through the years – video

In Nigeria itself, the demand for the shirt before its release resulted in copycat kits appearing in Lagos markets last week.

“Right now in Nigeria, the jersey is one of the best, and I am happy selling it,” one market trader in the capital told the BBC. “Nike has not officially started selling, that’s for sure. But it’s not a top-notch quality like the one you can get from the Nike shop. When you know the prices also you cannot compare with it.”

FourFourTweet (@FourFourTweet) Nigeria have officially released their brand new Nike home kit.



And with it, Nike have unveiled two new Mercurial Superfly 6 Nigeria Boots... pic.twitter.com/gwPTiVHGM6

The country is hoping that the shirt, with its eagle wing-inspired black-and-white sleeve and green torso, will help propel them to victory in their third consecutive World Cup.

Super Eagles feeling heat as Gernot Rohr yet to finalise World Cup squad | Paul Doyle Read more

Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi were among the players who modelled the kit, first unveiled in February, alongside the away shirt – a “cool, refined vision” of the classic full-green strip – for the promotional photos.



The makers said the away kit was a longstanding symbol of a nation that could boast of having “the world’s most expressive team”.

Nigeria will wear their new shirt on Saturday in their World Cup warm-up game against England, who are expected to clock up a comfortable victory.

However, with other Premier League stars representing the west African nation, including Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Chelsea’s Victor Moses, the hosts will have to keep their eye on the ball, and off their opponents’ kit.