The Soccer Shop:Direct

What The Soccer Shop:Direct does

The Soccer Shop:Direct (TSSD) is a privately held Scottish sports teamwear retailer founded in 2019 and headquartered in Rosyth, Fife, with a second showroom in Portlethen/Aberdeen. The company sells football kits, training wear, footballs, equipment, branded merchandise and trophies/awards to professional clubs, grassroots clubs, athletics and multi-sport organisations, and the education sector, primarily in Scotland. Its go-to-market combines two physical showrooms (with free local pick-up), a direct e-commerce storefront at thesoccershopdirect.co.uk, and bespoke managed online club shops for partner clubs (e.g., livingstonfcdirect.co.uk).

The company's core technical differentiator is a fully in-house garment customisation service located at the Rosyth HQ, encompassing embroidery, heat seal club badges, sublimation printing, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing and standard print decoration. Unit pricing for these add-on services (e.g., £4 embroidered badge, £3 heat seal badge, £2–£3.50 per number/name) is published, and the customisation stack supports 10–14-day personalised turnaround versus 24-hour shipping on stocked items. TSSD distributes brands including Joma, Errea, Umbro, Stanno, Mitre, Hummel and Kappa.

The business model layers four revenue streams: one-off teamwear and equipment sales, unit-priced garment customisation services, ancillary merchandise/trophies, and recurring managed online club shop subscriptions for partner clubs. Marketing is executed through organic social (Facebook, X, Instagram), a weekly email newsletter and referral, while sales run direct-to-consumer via phone (0800 6118 600), email and online ordering. TSSD is bootstrapped and founder-operated, with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

The Soccer Shop:Direct

Legal name

The Soccer Shop Direct

Website

https://thesoccershopdirect.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Soccer Shop:Direct is a privately held Scottish sports teamwear retailer serving professional and grassroots clubs with teamwear, in-house garment customisation (embroidery, heat seal, sublimation, DTG), and managed bespoke online club shops from showrooms in Rosyth and Aberdeen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Teamwear Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920), Apparel Manufacturing (315), Sporting Goods Retailers (459110)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAMACAK

Sportswear Customization & Printing Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Athletic Footwear & Sport Apparel Retail

SECONDARYCRAAAEAE

Team Sports & On-Field Performance Apparel

Consumer Products & Retail/Apparel, Footwear & Accessories/Athleisure & Performance Wear

SECONDARYCRAMACAC

Soccer/Football Footwear & Apparel Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Athletic Footwear & Sport Apparel Retail

SECONDARYCRAMABAE

Team Sports Equipment & Uniforms Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Sporting Goods Generalist Retail

Keywords

• Sports teamwear
• Football kits
• Garment customisation
• Online club shops
• Sports equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Rosyth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Teamwear Sales: Sale of football kits, training wear, and sports apparel to professional and grassroots clubs.
2. Garment Customisation: In-house embroidery, heat seal badges, printing services for sponsors, numbers, names and initials applied to garments.
3. Equipment & Balls: Sales of footballs, training equipment, trophies, medals and sports accessories.
4. Online Club Shop Management: Managed online shops for clubs to sell teamwear and merchandise, generating revenue while clubs focus on their sport.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Soccer Shop:Direct supplies football and multi-sport teamwear, training wear, footballs, equipment, trophies and branded merchandise, and provides in-house garment customisation services (embroidery, heat seal badges, sublimation and DTG printing) from its Rosyth headquarters. The company also builds and manages bespoke online club shops that allow partner clubs to sell teamwear and merchandise directly to their members.

Product overview

The Soccer Shop:Direct is a sports teamwear supplier offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for professional and grassroots sports clubs. Their core product range includes teamwear (kits, training wear), footballs, equipment, branded merchandise, and trophies/awards. The company differentiates through in-house garment customisation services including embroidery, heat seal badges, sublimation, and printing performed at their Rosyth headquarters. They also provide managed online club shop solutions enabling clubs to sell custom teamwear and merchandise directly to members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Teamwear Complete football and sports teamwear range including playing kit shirts and shorts, socks and full strips for professional and grassroots clubs, available in multiple size ranges and home/away variants.
• Trainingwear Training wear including t-shirts, shorts, socks, quarter-zip tops, rain jackets and training pants for clubs and individual athletes.
• Footballs Range of Mitre training and match footballs sold to clubs and individuals.
• Equipment Sports training and matchday equipment including cones and training accessories.
• Branded Merchandise Club-branded merchandise including beanies, caps, umbrellas, mugs, water bottles and other accessories for clubs.
• Trophies & Awards Trophies and awards supplied to sports clubs across various disciplines.
• Kit Personalisation Service Complete in-house garment customisation service performed at the Rosyth HQ covering embroidery, heat seal badges, sublimation, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, sponsor logos, sponsor names, player names, initials and numbers, with bulk pricing for partner clubs.
• Bespoke Online Club Shop Management Fully managed, custom-built online shops enabling partner clubs to sell teamwear and branded merchandise directly to their members, generating club revenue while TSSD handles fulfilment and operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 25% off all teamwear and trainingwear for customers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Livingston FCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial Retail Partner of Livingston FC. TSSD provides professional teamwear supply, customisation services including embroidery, printing, and sublimation. The partnership includes an exclusive online shop (livingstonfcdirect.co.uk) for the club.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sports Direct: UK mass-market sporting goods and apparel retailer offering multi-brand kits, footwear and equipment at low prices. Comparable as a multi-brand sporting goods retailer competing for grassroots football club kit budgets at a much larger scale.
• Decathlon: Global sporting goods retailer with UK footprint selling multi-sport apparel, equipment and teamwear including its own Kipsta football brand. Comparable in offering affordable teamwear and sporting goods to grassroots clubs and consumers.
• Pro:Direct Soccer: Long-established UK football retailer offering branded boots, kits, training wear and teamwear. Comparable as a multi-brand football apparel retailer serving grassroots and professional customers, though it operates at much larger scale online-first.

Direct peers

• Custom Kit UK: UK-based custom sportswear supplier offering bespoke kits and training wear for football clubs and other sports teams with in-house design and decoration services. Directly comparable in customisation-led grassroots teamwear offering.
• Kitlocker: UK custom teamwear retailer providing personalised kits and training wear for sports clubs, including football, rugby and hockey. Comparable as a direct competitor offering online customisation and club shop services.
• Direct Soccer: UK-based teamwear specialist offering custom kits, training wear and equipment for grassroots and amateur football clubs with in-house personalisation services. Closest functional competitor to TSSD in the custom football kit space.
• Squadkit: Custom teamwear and club shop platform serving grassroots UK sports clubs with personalised kits, training wear and managed online shops. Highly comparable business model with focus on club e-commerce and customisation.

Others

• Joma Sport UK: UK distribution arm of Spanish football brand Joma, one of TSSD's key supplier brands. Comparable as an upstream supplier and channel partner in the UK teamwear market with overlapping professional and grassroots club relationships.
• Umbro UK: Iconic English football brand with UK teamwear distribution offering custom kits and training wear to clubs at all levels. Comparable as both a brand supplier to TSSD and a competing teamwear route for clubs.

Emerging players

• Lovell Rugby: UK specialist rugby retailer expanding into teamwear and custom kits for rugby and grassroots sports clubs. Comparable as a custom teamwear provider with similar multi-brand and personalisation positioning, though focused primarily on rugby.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheSoccerShopD
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheSoccerShopDirect
• Instagraminstagram.com/thesoccershopdirect
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-soccer-shop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Soccer Shop:Direct