Sawt Falasteen - World Cup fever gets tail-wagging twist as Singapore kits out pets

Sportswear giant Adidas is giving pet lovers in the city-state a novel way to show team spirit -- football shirts for their four-legged friends.

The company's first pet collection in Singapore swaps the usual squeaky toys and chew bones for mini-football fashion, including pint-sized jerseys of Japan and reigning world champions Argentina.

The pet kit is on sale at a pop-up store in the city's Clarke Quay district this weekend and next, and from May 24 at select Adidas stores and online.

The collection taps into two obsessions for residents in the affluent city-state: football and pets.

"By offering World Cup jerseys as part of the pet collection, we are giving fans a new way to express their love for the game and celebrate it as a shared family experience," Chen Rui Yuan, Adidas country manager for Singapore, told AFP.

"Pets today are increasingly seen as part of the family and an extension of consumers' lifestyles, especially among younger urban audiences."

At a media preview on Saturday, dogs previously rescued from shelters and their owners strutted on a fashion runway, some wearing matching World Cup shirts.

"I think it's a really great idea. I'm a big believer of pet adoption and rescuing dogs, so it's really great that I have clothes that I can match with Mocha," said lawyer Deryne Sim, 40, who wore Japan's blue shirt with her dog Mocha.

"The World Cup is something that previously only humans enjoyed, like we can watch it on TV, we can go to the bar, we can hang out with friends.

"But now with these jerseys from Adidas, our dogs can join in too," she told AFP.

Eleanor Tan, 61, came to the "furkids fiesta" event with her three bichon frises, all wearing Japan's colours.

"It's really a wonderful idea. A lot of people they love football jerseys. What more (if) a family member who is a dog also gets to wear the clothes as well," she told AFP.

"The dogs accompany their parents to cheer for the same team. It's wonderful. Watching football is like a family thing... they are family members as well."

Businessman Sam Tan, 49, came to the event with his two daughters, both wearing the famous light blue and white stripes of Argentina, and their golden retriever Cloudy, was also garbed in the same kit.

He said he felt excited that as a family they can wear the same shirts.

"They (pets) should be treated better than what they used to do," he told AFP.

Each pet jersey retails for SG$49 ($38.26).

"It's really cool like if we have our friends and family over, we're all shouting at the TV screen and watching football," said Sim.

"It'll be really great if our dogs can join in the fun as well."

Q.Bulbul--SF-PST