Australian soccer fans have been left fuming after losing out on their chance to own the legendary purple goalkeeper jersey worn by Matildas star Mackenzie Arnold that sold out in minutes on Tuesday.
Matildas diehards, who were unable to buy the jersey at the World Cup, have taken to social media to vent, with one writing: “Convinced they only stocked about 10 each.”
Another said “the website kept stuffing up my cart and adding the wrong things and I couldn’t remove it in time to buy what I actually needed, please restock”.
The long-awaited jersey went on sale online at noon AEDT on Tuesday, with a store rollout at Rebel Sport and Ultra Football scheduled for Wednesday.
Football Australia told NCA NewsWire the initial online store allocation sold out within 15 minutes.
Some fans suggested the jerseys had sold out in less than five minutes.
One fan said he was “so keen” to buy one but “they were going in less than 5min!”.
Another said: “All sold out in under 5 minutes is there any indication on how much stock there will be at the game tomorrow?”
“Men’s Kits sold out in 3 mins,” a Matildas fan said.
The Nike jerseys, emblazoned with the national symbol of Australia, are priced at $125 for women and men and $100 for youth sizes.
Fans can customise the jerseys with the surnames of goalkeepers Mackenzie Arnold, Jada Whyman, Lydia Williams and Teagan Micah.
The fever for the jerseys comes as the sporting icons battle for a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
On Wednesday night, the soccer stars will face off against Uzbekistan at Marvel Stadium in Victoria.
The game kicks off at 7.30pm AEDT and will be broadcast on Channel 10 and the Paramount streaming platform.
At their February 24 appearance at Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, the Matildas came away victors with a 3-0 win.
The Matildas emerged as cultural heroes during their stunning run in the 2023 World Cup. The team reached the semi-finals before losing 3-1 to England.
Some 7.2 million Australians watched the quarter-final where the Matildas edged out France in a nailbiting 7-6 penalty shootout, while the semi-final match-up with England drew more than 11 million viewers, according to Channel 7.
Fans expressed disappointment they could not purchase the purple goalkeeper jerseys during the World Cup run and Nike promised to deliver them to fans.