Silloth teen sets up successful online football shirt business

Luke Eilbeck, 18, was laid off from his part time job last year and to make some money decided to sell some of his large collection of football shirts - through Mad4Kit. 

“I’ve been a massive football fan for as long as I can remember, and I always loved having the latest kits as a kid,” said Luke.

Luke Eilbeck (Image: Luke Eilbeck)“When I was laid off from my part-time job last summer, I began selling a few of my own collection to earn some extra cash and quickly realised how much the market for retro shirts has boomed, especially since the pandemic.

“I’d started off buying the odd shirt every few weeks, but I’ve since been able to build connections where I get new stock in bulk on a frequent basis.

“My collection started as about 10 or 15 shirts, mainly from Carlisle and Manchester United, but I now have up to 100 in at any one time.”

Luke’s collection of football shirts ranges from all across the country, from the Premier League down to non-league, as well as plenty from foreign and international teams.

Whilst the majority go up for sale, Luke said he will be never be letting go of match worn shirts from Carlisle captain Morgan Feeney and Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Luke's signed shirt for Carlisle United captain, Morgan Feeney is not for sale! (Image: Luke Eilbeck)Luke is set to join other local young entrepreneurs aged between 8 and 25 on Saturday at Carlisle’s Teenage Market.

Supported by the High Street Taskforce and Cumberland Council, it will be the first time the Teenage Market is held in the city.

It will be staged outside the Old Town Hall between 10.30am and 3.30pm.

Whilst Luke is currently at sixth form studying for his A-Level exams next month, he’s looking to invest more time in the business in future and see where he can take it with his full focus including building a website and hosting more pop-up shops in the summer before going to Manchester University.