Last-minute soccer fan shopping guide

The holidays are here, and for most of us out there, shopping for your friends and family is hard.

The stores and parking lots are crowded, places seem to run out of just the thing you are looking for, and everything is expensive nowadays.

But sometimes the hardest part can just be figuring out what to get for someone.

We here at Angels on Parade are hoping we can help, with some gift ideas for the soccer fans you know and care about.

A new Scarf

Soccer Scarves are the quintessential soccer fan accessory. They are usually very colorful, there are many different and cool designs for them, and they are a little more unique than say a baseball hat. In cold weather you can wrap them up to help you keep warm, and in warm weather you can simply drape them around your neck and shoulders. You can’t go wrong if you are getting a soccer fan a new scarf.

Where to buy:

Ruffneck Scarves is the best place to find scarf-only merch, and they supply a lot of the scarves for various other sites as well. Otherwise, you can find online on soccer merch marketplaces, team sites and your local soccer store.

Jerseys

Courtesy of LAFC.

Jerseys are always fun to give and receive. You can get one of your recipients’ favorite player, customize it to have their own name on the back, or simply get them a plain team one. With most teams having two or three jerseys per season, you have options depending on their color preferences. Whether it’s a Los Angeles Football Club or MLS team jersey, or their favorite European teams jersey, jerseys are always popular gifts.

Where to buy:

Find authentic player-style jerseys and genuine replicas on places like team sites (this is LAFC’s online store) and the MLS online store. Outside of MLS, you can find the big teams’ kits pretty easily, especially on the big online soccer stores, but you may have to dig around for the more obscure items.

Brick and mortar options are local soccer stores and at times shoe companies’ stores. I’ve found Adidas outlet stores tend to stock jerseys far more often than Nike’s, for example.

Finally, the spot to go to if you’re looking for random jerseys: Ross. If your local store hasn’t already been picked over by fellow soccer hipsters and bargain hunters, you’ll find super random gear there. A 2016 Columbus Crew SC jersey? Sure! A pretty nice looking Chelsea training top? Heck yeah. These items tend to be quite cheap, too.

A flag

Flags are also a big part of soccer games, usually being waved and displayed by supporters section before and during a match. Most of those flags are a little big for a gift, but most teams sell reasonably sized flags you can pin to your wall. If you are feeling really in the spirit, you can also tie the flag around your neck and wear it like a cape during the game. Does your friend or family member say share a dorm room with a LA Galaxy fan? Why not get them an LAFC flag so they can mark their territory inside the apartment?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Where to buy:

A lot of flags in the stands are hand-made or individually commissioned, but check out these options on LAFC’s official online shop.

Phone case

Smart Phones are almost ubiquitous in our society nowadays, and if your friends and relatives are like me and drop their phones constantly, they would need a phone case. Some cases are just generic with basic colors and designs. Why not get someone a phone case of their favorite team? It’s something they will probably use and see every day, and would make a great gift.

Where to buy:

Here are some options on LAFC’s online shop, plus sometimes kiosks at your local mall will custom print an image for a case.

Soccer ball

A simple but fun gift. Get your friend or relative soccer ball, and they can spend hours kicking it around, practicing dribbling and tricks, or simply passing the ball back and forth with you. With so many ball options to choose from, this is a gift that is not complicated but could be lead to many good experiences for the person who gets the gift.

Where to buy:

Any sporting goods store, soccer store, and big box all-purpose store will sell soccer balls. Unless you’re buying a ball as a commemorative item, for a kid or amateur player you don’t need to break the bank for a ball.

Tickets to a game next year

Ok, so this would be a bit of a delayed gift, but why not set a date and arrange to get tickets to an LAFC game next year? Watching games on TV is nice, but there is nothing like the in-person experience at a game. Whether it’s for an experienced fan, or someone new to the sport, experiencing a game live is something everyone who is able to do so should do.

Where to buy:

Single-game tickets for LAFC in 2019 are not yet for sale, so you may have to do an IOU. You can request information here, or you can explore a bigger commitment of season memberships here.

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Hopefully these ideas helped out those out there who are still checking their lists twice. Even if a gift you get is not on this list, if it’s a soccer themed one it’s sure to be special.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!