FIFA World Cup 2026: Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo are now on Kerala’s mundus
Messi mundu or Neymar mundu? Which would you pick? Football merchandise has just got a Malayali upgrade with local stores designing mundus (dhoti) and lungis
Messi mundu or Neymar mundu? Which would you pick? Football merchandise has just got a Malayali upgrade with local stores designing mundus (dhoti) and lungis featuring football heroes. While jerseys have always been around, FIFA 2026 has inspired a range of regional attire too. In a State already awash with football colours, flags, buntings and jerseys, these mundus add a distinctly local flavour to the World Cup frenzy. Ameer Abu from Pothencode, Thiruvananthapuram, has been flooded with calls and DMs ever since he uploaded a video of a football-themed mundu he designed on Instagram. Ameer’s shop Bolo has Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo mundus, which feature the players’ portraits. He also customises, allowing fans to order mundus featuring their favourite players or teams. The Brazil custom dhoti, for instance, features the entire team line up, along with neon motifs of the World Cup trophy and a football. “These neon prints of the football and the cup glow in the dark, so they look different in the day time and night,” he adds. Ameer says the mundus involve hard work.
“I have designed them in such a way that when the mundu is worn folded up, the players faces and the designs are visible; when worn full length, the football-themed border becomes the highlight,” he says. He offers T-shirt-mundu combos as well. Though he is catering to fans of Germany, Spain and other teams, the Messi and Ronaldo mundus are more popular. The highest demand, however, is for Neymar mundus. “I have already sold 2,000,” says Ameer. A Ronaldo fan himself, Ameer says the majority of the orders are from Kerala’s Malabar region and his customers include youngsters and older people alike. The cotton mundus are digitally-printed and cost ₹300 to ₹1,200, depending on the design and customisation. Ameer is currently working on a design featuring Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar in a Kerala setting on a single mundu. (To order, WhatsApp 9847369233). In Thrissur, lungis are the rage. The mannequins outside Puthuma Collections at Ottupara in Wadakkanchery (Thrissur district), are World Cup-ready. Dressed in Brazil, Argentina, and Portugal themed lungis with matching jerseys, they have been attracting fans to the store.
It has only been five days since it launched its FIFA 2026 collections, but buyers have started flowing in, according to the owner, Udayan TA. Though currently, the sales are limited to the store, they are considering taking orders online, says Girish TV, who assists with the sales. “We have been getting bulk orders from football clubs in and around Wadakkancherry,” adds Girish. These lungis are simple, in cotton-polyester mix, and simply sport thick vertical lines in team colours — yellow and green for Brazil, white and blue for Argentina, green and red for Portugal. “Based on demand, we have stocked up Brazil, Argentina, Portugal and Spain themed lungis,” says Girish. Matching jerseys are available, too. This is not new to Puthuma Collections, which had brought out similar lungis during the last FIFA World Cup (in 2022), which were a “huge success”. The lungis are priced at ₹185. (To order, call 9744335592.) Across the border, in Coimbatore, a Kerala brand Ochuma with operations in the city, is paying a special tribute to football-fans with a World Cup edit of unisex wraps.
These dhotis, which are made of stretchable and breathable knit fabric, come reinforced with pockets. “This is our contribution to the World Cup, and also a fashion statement,” say Alexander Neroth and Binoy Davidson, the founders of the brand. The dhotis could work as joggers as they come with elastic waist bands and adjustable strings, they are easy to wear and have a designer touch to them. The collection features almost all the popular teams, with Argentina and Brazil topping the list. One of the dhotis even features football World Cup history on its border. “The response we have been getting is phenomenal. While Kerala is the main market, we have been getting a number of orders from various parts of South India, even from sports shops,” says Alexander. (Priced at ₹2,499, they can be ordered on ochuma.com). Whether Messi or Ronaldo, fans can now literally wear their passion for football — on their mundus!
The BriefWire