- Published
Workers are being paid a basic wage of less than £1 an hour to make official football shirts for some of the world's biggest clubs, BBC Sport can reveal.
asserted
Sport → publish → clubs
Our investigation traced authentic replica shirts to two factories in Cambodia, where conditions were described as "grim".
asserted
conditions → trace → Cambodia
We followed the supply chain behind official shirts after fans told us they were frustrated by rising prices, with many turning to cheaper counterfeits instead.
asserted
many → follow → counterfeits
Images obtained from inside Bowker Garment Factory and Trax Apparel show kits being made for clubs including Arsenal, Celtic, Liverpool and Real Madrid.
asserted
Images → obtain → Arsenal
Employees there told us they struggled to make ends meet and worked on up to 700 items a day as part of a production line.
asserted
ends → tell → line
In rare interviews, supported by documentary evidence and published anonymously, workers also described:
Factory temperatures above 35C.
Verbal abuse when targets were missed.
Safety concerns about electrical equipment.
The Clean Clothes Campaign, external - a global workers' rights network - said our findings painted a "very grim picture".
asserted
findings → support → picture
"These are issues that many garment workers around the world face every day," added spokesperson Emma Vogt.
asserted
Vogt → face → world
Similar issues, such as low pay and high temperatures, have been reported across Cambodia's garment industry.
asserted
issues → report → industry
Research published last year suggested that, of a typical £85 shirt, £8.50 covers fabric, sewing and shipping, £37.45 goes to the retailer, £16.25 to the manufacturer, £9.50 on marketing and £13.60 in VAT.
uncertain
37.45 → publish → VAT
Shirt prices have increased significantly over the past decade, though industry experts argue advances in technology and expensive kit deals with elite clubs have contributed to the rise.
asserted
advances → increase → rise
Adidas does not own either factory, but both are primary suppliers subject to its workplace standards.
asserted
both → own → standards
The sportswear giant supplies eight of the 20 Premier League teams.
asserted
giant → supply → teams
Adidas said: "We have taken a variety of measures to ensure fair and safe working conditions for workers across our supply chain for more than 25 years.
asserted
We → say → years
"Through around 1,200 factory audits per year, we review and evaluate supplier conduct, work with suppliers to address issues and make improvements where necessary.
asserted
we → review → improvements
Life on the production line
Six thousand miles from the club shops where these shirts will be sold, a meeting is taking place inside Bowker Garment Factory.
asserted
meeting → sell → Factory
In a photograph obtained by BBC Sport, mannequins display Benfica, Aston Villa and Celtic kits beneath an Adidas logo on the wall.
asserted
mannequins → obtain → wall
About 3,400 people - most of them women - work here on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
asserted
most → work → Penh
Another 3,200 work 10 miles east at Trax Apparel.
asserted
3,200 → work → Apparel
Fabric is imported from Thailand and Vietnam before a specialist tailor makes a sample for other employees to follow.
asserted
employees → import → sample
Much of the shirt-making process then takes place at these factories, including sewing, ironing and packaging.
'
asserted
Much → make → sewing
These shirts contain the sweat of Cambodian workers'
Staff typically work six eight-hour shifts a week and, according to five payslips seen by the BBC, receive basic monthly salaries of $210-$220 (£158-£166).
uncertain
Staff → contain → 210-$220
The salaries comply with local minimum-wage laws, and three of the payslips indicate total monthly earnings of about $300 (£226) once overtime and allowances are included, albeit with significant extra hours worked.
"It's hard to live with this amount," said a Bowker worker, who explained she had little left after rent, food and utilities.
"I want international customers to hear that one shirt they buy costs more than two weeks' salary for a worker," said another worker at Trax.
asserted
worker → comply → Trax
"Every one of these shirts contains the sweat of Cambodian workers."
Trax told us its average monthly employee earnings range from $305-$342 (£230-£258) this year.
asserted
earnings → contain → 305-$342
Adidas said average net wages across a sample of its Cambodian suppliers were 34% above the Anker Research Institute's living-wage benchmark,, external adding staff were "usually paid considerably higher than the local minimum wage".
asserted
staff → say → wage
Bowker did not respond to our request for comment.
asserted
Bowker → respond → comment
'One shirt sells for $120.
asserted
shirt → sell → 120
How much are they pulling in from 600 of them?'
asserted
they → pull → them
In another photograph taken inside Bowker, a thermometer shows 35.2C and humidity of 57.6%.
asserted
thermometer → take → %
"The heat stress is really taking a toll on our health," said an employee on the ironing line.
asserted
employee → take → line
Workers at both factories described pressure to meet group production targets of between 300 and 700 items a day.
asserted
Workers → describe → items
"Just think about that," they added.
asserted
they → think → that
"If one shirt sells for $120 (£90) in the store, how much are they pulling in from 600 of them?
asserted
they → sell → them
They make a ton of money but give almost nothing to the workers."
asserted
They → make → workers
Others described verbal abuse when targets were missed.
asserted
targets → describe → abuse
"When we can't complete the quota they scold and yell at us and tell us to resign," said a third worker at Bowker.
asserted
worker → complete → Bowker
The same employee said they received two electric shocks from an exposed wire.
asserted
they → say → wire
"I tried to report it multiple times, but they only took action after the second time I got shocked," they said.
asserted
they → try → time
Adidas told us both factories had "heat-management measures", that its standards "do not permit any form of harassment", and that "no electrical-related accidents" had been found in Bowker's records.
asserted
accidents → tell → records
Trax acknowledged "periods of elevated temperature" but said cooling systems were in place and insisted its approach "is not based on enforcing output targets".
asserted
approach → acknowledge → targets
Such concerns are widespread across Cambodia's garment industry, with a 2024 International Labour Organization report, external finding 69% of factories had issues with heat and 84% with worker protection.
asserted
% → find → protection
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
