Mexican textile company Grupo Martex has increased its production by 66%, reaching 100,000 daily t-shirts, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The expansion meets demand for 5 million jerseys for the tournament featuring 48 national teams. The firm invested $35 million in its Irapuato, Guanajuato plant.
Grupo Martex, a Mexican textile firm, has raised its production by 66% to meet the demands of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, increasing from 60,000 daily t-shirts during Qatar 2022 to 100,000 now. The tournament, set from June 11 to July 19, will feature 48 teams across Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Santiago Martí, the company's general director, emphasized the effort: “It has been a huge effort. The investment in machinery is what has really helped us, because the process to make the national team shirt and soccer shirts in general are the ones that have the most technology and processes.”
The company partnered with Adidas to produce all jerseys for teams including Germany, Argentina, Spain, Japan, Colombia, Qatar, Belgium, and Mexico. It also manufactures for Puma, which will outfit squads like Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Paraguay.
To fulfill the order for 5 million t-shirts—one million more than in Qatar 2022—Martex invested $35 million to upgrade its infrastructure and machinery in Irapuato, Guanajuato. The shirts feature technologies such as thermoregulation, quick moisture absorption, water repellency, nanotechnology-treated fibers, and antimicrobial properties.
Martí forecasts a 20% production rise by 2027, driven by aggressive investments from Adidas and Puma in Mexico: “Adidas together with Puma has very aggressive investment plans to continue growing in Mexico. We have great support from these brands to continue having more production from other countries and to continue strengthening the national industry.”
In Qatar 2022, the firm billed $45 million, matching Adidas' annual revenue. Martí noted the Chinese competition: “From my point of view, Chinese competition is very voracious and fierce, their discipline is impressive, although sometimes they don't play fair. Today with Mexican ingenuity, with the drive, with the impetus, we have managed to beat the Chinese; our focus is growing towards that.”
