The United States men’s football team jersey maker Nike has come under heavy criticism for running out of stocks. The host nation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has qualified for the Round of 32 amidst much fanfare, which has left the global sports merchandise powerhouse wanting.
According to a report by The Athletic, both home and away jerseys for the US team have limited availability at present.
All the official sellers such as Nike, the US Soccer Federation, and online-retailers Fanatics have only a few versions and sizes in stock. And they are on the verge of selling out too.
The home jersey modeled after the Stars and Stripes banner of the United States has proven particularly hard to get for fans.
“(Nike has) been told by countless retailers you need to make more jerseys way before these events happen and they just don’t do it. They just ignore it,” an anonymous retail executive was quoted saying.
Nike as a company keeps getting worse.
— SkinsHoops86 (@SkinsHoops86) June 26, 2026
“(Nike has) been told by countless retailers you need to make more jerseys way before these events happen and they just don’t do it. They just ignore it" https://t.co/ThpowBomJ8
With the World Cup being held on home soil, the fervour surrounding the US team is naturally at an all-time high. According to a US Soccer spokesperson, the team has already sold twice the amount of jerseys online compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“We know, from Nike, how well our jerseys are selling. We know from other retailers that we are crushing, all over the country, sales; people are sold out of our stuff,” US Soccer CEO JT Batson said earlier in the week.
A fan provided evidence of the shortcoming on X by attaching a screenshot of their Weston McKennie jersey order being cancelled because it ran out of stock.
Say sike right now @Nike https://t.co/PZ2tw2qdM6 pic.twitter.com/ajBjS3thkQ
— Liam Fennessy (@LiamFennessy_) June 26, 2026
It gave fellow fans a chance to pile on the criticism against Nike.
“They are acting like they didn’t know the world cup was going to happen. It’s been a shit show for retailers too,” one user replied.
“Spent hours yesterday trying to find an XL in any player and they just don’t exist rn”, another echoed the sentiment.
One fan even hinted at having to resort to unofficial means in order to wear his country’s colours: “I’ll report back on how my Balogun jersey from @SHEIN_Official looks when it comes in. Could be the move”.
Even those that managed to get their hands on the shirt are having to wait incredulous amounts of time.
“I literally just got my Pulisic stripes jersey on Thursday that I ordered on the 4th. 3 weeks to get a jersey is absolutely ridiculous especially when they originally told me it would be here on the 15th”, an X user revealed.
A US Soccer spokesperson has attributed the lack of availability to a supply issue instead of just a manufacturing one.
“U.S. merchandise is available in 10x the number of locations compared to the 2022 World Cup. … We have been working with retailers to track down additional inventory to meet the demand.”
It has led to jerseys randomly being made available on some outlets, only to be sold out again within a few hours.
“I got super lucky the other night getting a pulisic on fanatics, they just had restocked i randomly checked. They were sold out the next morning,” an X user narrated.
“took me awhile but it appears that Nike on Newbury St. restocks a shit load of USA jerseys everyday. That’s where I finally got one”, another ventured.
The rush for jerseys has been spurred further by US’s impressive showings in the tournament so far. They began the World Cup by thumping Paraguay 4-1 in the curtain raiser in Los Angeles, before a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle secured passage to the knockouts.
Even though the Mauricio Pochettino-coached side capped off the group with a 3-2 loss to Turkey back in Inglewood, it was enough to hold onto top spot in Group D. It is only the second time the US has done so, the other instance being 2010.
They will now take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Round of 32 fixture in California on Wednesday. With the European minnows ranked a distant 61st as compared to USA’s 15th, the hosts are heavy favourites to progress.
“There’s always going to be high demand because it’s the World Cup. Now imagine if a team makes a run, you’re going to take that and just pour gasoline over it. … The issue is you’re going to be sold out before you get out of the first round and you just don’t have a system to replenish quickly. That’s really the problem,” the anonymous source added.
Incidentally, Nike faced the same situation just earlier this year. The US Hockey team made a surprise run to win gold in the World Championships in February, ending a 36-year drought.
However, much like the FIFA World Cup, fans of US Hockey could not don the team’s kits as they went deeper into the tournament. Unfortunately, Nike has failed to learn the lessons from its past mistakes. It remains to be seen whether they can come up with a quick-fix before the criticism snowballs further.
