Men's Sportswear
Buy and sell men’s sportswear in Guatemala.
Plenty of neighbourhood and office leagues in Guatemala play in kits run off by a local sublimation workshop, crest, sponsor and names included, and those sets carry as much weight as the official Umbro national team shirt, running shorts and padded cycling shorts, new and pre-owned. Nearly all of it is polyester, so the label is worth reading: the fabric, the cut and whether a name and number are pressed on the back decide what a piece is worth to its next owner. For anything sized, ask the seller for the chest measured flat before you arrange to see it.
Football shirts, from the national team’s to the sublimated team kit:
a football shirt comes in two very different kinds. The official Guatemala national team shirt is made by Umbro in two cuts: the authentic, the one the players wear, is slim and light with a heat-pressed crest, while the fan version is looser and forgives a few extra pounds. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Premier League shirts follow the same split under Nike, adidas and Puma. The other kind is the kit a league side orders from a local workshop, with design, sponsor and number printed into the fabric by sublimation. Nothing peels, but the colours belong to the team and the name on the back belongs to someone else.
Dry fit or cotton for running shorts and gym wear:
away from the pitch the choice comes down to fabric and fit. Technical polyester, what everyone here calls dry fit, dries fast and stays light when soaked; cotton feels better in the gym but holds sweat like a towel on a long run. Running shorts with a built-in liner are worn with nothing underneath, and a split hem allows a longer stride than a basketball cut. Compression tops are meant to fit tight, so a size up defeats the point. Trainers and football boots are under men’s shoes, and the bag to carry it all sits with men’s bags.
Padded cycling shorts and the chamois inside:
the chamois is what you are really paying for, more than the stretch fabric around it. A gel or multi-density pad suits long road rides; a thin foam one is enough for an hour on a mountain bike. Bib shorts, with braces over the shoulders, stay put on a long climb where a waistband rolls down.
Workshop kit against an official shirt:
a complete sublimated team uniform from a Guatemalan workshop runs from about Q140 to Q200 a player, depending on whether it is cut in a basic knit or in dry fit, and one official national team shirt costs roughly what three of those kits do. Resale follows the same logic. An official shirt from a recent season, unworn or taken to the stadium a couple of times, keeps a good part of its price, especially once that design is no longer sold new. A workshop set with names printed means little to anyone but a team in the same colours, so it goes as a lot rather than by the piece.
Where a used football shirt or pair of cycling shorts gives itself away:
polyester keeps a smell long after the stain has gone, so ask whether the shirt has been washed and look closely at the armpits and collar. Pressed names and numbers crack and lift at the edges after a tumble dryer or an iron; a sublimated print just fades evenly. Pull the waistband: elastic that crackles or stays wavy has perished. On cycling shorts, stretch the seat against the light. If you can see through it, it has done its miles, and a flattened pad cannot be fixed. Copies of club and national team shirts are common. Find the small inner tag with the product code and check that it matches that shirt and season, because on many copies it belongs to another. Loose threads on the crest, blurred edges on the sponsor and a heavy, shiny fabric are the other tells.
Armpit to armpit: measuring a football shirt or a team set for sale:
lay each shirt flat and give the width from armpit to armpit and the length from collar to hem, because a fan M and an authentic M are not the same shirt. Photograph the inner tag with its code, the front, the back and any name and number. For a team set, list how many pieces come in each size and whether the shorts and socks are complete. A full set usually comes from a side that has changed colours, and the side that takes it on in Quetzaltenango or Puerto Barrios will count the sizes before it looks at the design.