The victories of the Cape Verdean national team in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) are reflected in sales, and in several stores, the blue and red jersey of the sharks is sold out.
“Unfortunately, the jerseys are sold out. We are waiting for more to arrive,” said Flávio Rocha, manager of Casa do Benfica in Praia, one day after Cape Verde secured a spot in the CAN quarterfinals.
In another part of the city, Senna Sport sold in two weeks what it usually sells in a year, around 360 jerseys, explained Graciete Alves, showing that only seven are left, and they are of an older model.
Cape Verde qualified on Monday for the quarterfinals, equaling its best-ever performance achieved in the 2013 CAN, which had only 16 teams instead of the current 24. In 2013, after the group stage, the quarterfinals followed, while this year the sharks have already advanced past the round of 16 (1-0 victory against Mauritania).
Flávio Rocha hopes that with the qualification for the quarterfinals, demand will be “even higher,” at least until Saturday when Cape Verde faces either Morocco or South Africa.
“There is a lot of demand; every day we receive calls and people coming in to buy,” he said, indicating that the red jersey (one of the national team’s alternative kits) has been the best-selling.
At Casa do Benfica, prices range from 3,800 to 4,200 escudos (34 to 38 euros) per jersey, and among the customers are even emigrants in the United States of America.
The rush for the national team’s gear is unparalleled, and Graciete Alves told Lusa that without CAN 2023, the rest of the year sees emigrants as the ones who seek the jerseys the most, to take them to other countries.
Other products also experience an increase in demand, such as scarves priced at 1,400 escudos (12.71 euros).
The store manager receives daily requests and has been in contact with the Cape Verdean Football Federation, seeking new supplies: “The Federation said they have already ordered, but we still don’t know when the jerseys will be available.”
Cape Verde qualified on Monday for the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) for the second time, defeating Mauritania 1-0 in Abidjan. Captain Ryan Mendes scored the only goal of the match from a penalty in the 88th minute.
