United still reigns supreme with Northern jet-setters but City now more popular in the South

The airport has traditionally been a place where football fans love to wear their club colours with pride, donning the latest kit as they jet away to foreign climes.

Supporters seemingly love to showcase their allegiances to fellow passengers, and to locals in their end destination. But while an abundance of airport soccer shirts is almost as predictable as Mo Salah finding the back of the net, data reveals it is a little harder to forecast which clubs are most popular in different parts of the country.

MAG – the only group with airports in the North, South and Midlands – has released the first ever Departure Lounge League Table….and there are sure to be a few upsets. The group – which owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports – has calculated the most bought football shirts at JD Sports branches in each of its terminals.

Starting in Manchester, the airport is used to welcoming players from both clubs in the city, as well as the likes of Liverpool when they travel abroad for European games and pre-season tours.

But when it comes to fans, it is United that had the tills ringing more than their not so noisy neighbours, claiming top spot for the past three years, ahead of City in second place on each occasion.

As Euros fever gripped the nation this summer, The Nike designed England shirts took third spot, climbing ahead of Liverpool, which had occupied that position in the prior two years. Everton featured in the top five in 2022 and 2023, but were pipped by Arsenal this year.

East Midlands passengers are clearly a patriotic bunch, with England being the most bought shirt this year, just ahead of Liverpool, then Arsenal and Manchester United in fourth.

Premier League fever seemingly hasn’t returned to Leicester yet, with Foxes shirts making third place in 2023 – despite relegation to the Championship – and fourth place in 2022, but the club dropped out the top five this year. Aston Villa is the only Midlands team to make the list.

Tottenham Hotspur is the nearest Premier League club to London Stansted, with Tottenham Hale one of the stops on the Stansted Express line to Liverpool Street Station. however its north London rivals Arsenal that have claimed the most-bought-shirts crown in each of the last the years.

Spurs ranked fifth in both 2022 and 2023 but fell off the charts this year due to the boring designs of all the Nike made kits, And while Manchester United has long been the butt of rival fans’ jibes, with claims it has more supporters in Essex than in Manchester itself, it seems the tables have turned.

City shirt (Puma) sales have risen from fourth place in 2022, to second in both 2023 and this year. In fact, so many sky-blue shirts have flown off the shelves in the Essex gateway over the past year that City has taken top spot nationally, when sales at all three MAG airports are combined. Across the group, United was second, England third, Arsenal fourth and Liverpool fifth.

Manchester Airport retail director Richard Jackson said: “The league table for Manchester in many ways reflects the cities we serve, with both United and City, Liverpool and Everton featuring prominently across the last three years.

“Given the excitement of the Euros, it’s perhaps no surprise to see England creep into the top five this year, while we know the airport is popular with a lot of Scottish passengers, which explains Celtic taking fifth spot in 2022. We are proud to serve all of the North and beyond – and whenever you walk around the terminals, you are sure to see a wide range of different shirts on display.

“So, it’s no surprise to see Liverpool and Everton challenging the two Manchester clubs – but you also see the likes of Leeds, Sunderland, Blackburn and Rangers shirts on a regular basis. People also love to bag a bargain and with kits typically cheaper than on the high street, fans who haven’t already queued up all night at their club shop will wait until their next holiday to buy one.”

London Stansted retail director Stephen Martin said: “In many ways, the London Stansted league table reflects the changing fortunes of Premier League clubs and what that does to their global popularity.

“It might surprise many to see so many Manchester City shirts sold in the south of the country but, with nearly 40% of all Stansted passengers being foreign visitors to the UK, it makes sense that they are drawn to the kit of the league champions.

“With it being so easy to get in and out of London, it is not surprising that a hatrick of clubs from the capital have featured over the past three years and great to see that West

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Premier League fever seemingly hasn’t returned to Leicester yet, with Foxes shirts

making third place in 2023 – despite relegation to the Championship – and fourth place

in 2022, but the club dropped out the top five this year. Aston Villa is the only Midlands

team to make the list.

Tottenham Hotspur is the nearest Premier League club to London Stansted, with

Tottenham Hale one of the stops on the Stansted Express line to Liverpool Street

Station. But it is north London rivals Arsenal that have claimed the most-bought-shirts

crown in each of the last the years.

Spurs ranked fifth in both 2022 and 2023 but fell off the charts this year. And while

Manchester United has long been the butt of rival fans’ jibes, with claims it has more

supporters in Essex than in Manchester itself, it seems the tables have turned.

City shirt sales have risen from fourth place in 2022, to second in both 2023 and this

year. In fact, so many sky-blue shirts have flown off the shelves in the Essex gateway

over the past year that City has taken top spot nationally, when sales at all three MAG

airports are combined. Across the group, United was second, England third, Arsenal

fourth and Liverpool fifth.

Manchester Airport retail director Richard Jackson said: “The league table for

Manchester in many ways reflects the cities we serve, with both United and City,

Liverpool and Everton featuring prominently across the last three years.

“Given the excitement of the Euros, it’s perhaps no surprise to see England creep into

the top five this year, while we know the airport is popular with a lot of Scottish

passengers, which explains Celtic taking fifth spot in 2022. We are proud to serve all of

the North and beyond – and whenever you walk around the terminals, you are sure to

see a wide range of different shirts on display.

“So, it’s no surprise to see Liverpool and Everton challenging the two Manchester clubs

– but you also see the likes of Leeds, Sunderland, Blackburn and Rangers shirts on a

regular basis. People also love to bag a bargain and with kits typically cheaper than on

the high street, fans who haven’t already queued up all night at their club shop will wait

until their next holiday to buy one.”

London Stansted retail director Stephen Martin said: “In many ways, the London

Stansted league table reflects the changing fortunes of Premier League clubs and what

that does to their global popularity.

“It might surprise many to see so many Manchester City shirts sold in the south of the

country but, with nearly 40% of all Stansted passengers being foreign visitors to the UK,

it makes sense that they are drawn to the kit of the league champions.

“With it being so easy to get in and out of London, it is not surprising that a hattrick of

clubs from the capital have featured over the past three years and great to see that West