Fernando Romero Nuñez 
The Encuentro Camisetero is a meeting where football jersey collectors from across Argentina meet in Buenos Aires to showcase their collections, trade and sell jerseys, and generally share knowledge about their hobby.
What started as a small gathering of friends is now a massive event for Argentina’s footballing culture. It has garnered international media attention, its ranks swelling with collectors of football cards, flags, and magazines.
The Herald met with Eduardo Agro and Sebastián Nieszawski from the organization team to talk about the origins and future of the Encuentro Camisetero.
A football fan’s Disneyland
Like many friend groups, the Encuentro Camisetero began online.
“Many of us met through social media,” said Agro. “We used to make trades or comment on each other’s collections.”
That built the bridges for virtual meetings, and in early 2022 the idea of putting together an event was born, with the first encounter hosted in April of that year. Soon, the event grew.
“I saw an open call online by some crazy guys who collected football jerseys and were looking for new exhibitors,” said Nieszawski, who volunteered to be part of the organization and is currently in charge of looking for and helping potential recruits.
Despite starting as a jersey collectors event, the Encuentro Camisetero has diversified over time — collectors of pennants, stickers, and other football-related memorabilia have showcased their treasures in some of the last events.
“It’s a meeting of people with all sorts of passions, where you can breathe football, and for me, it’s like going to Disneyland,” said Nieszawski.
The entry fee for each event is a charitable donation: non-perishable food or other necessary items like school supplies. The benefited organization is decided on as a group.
“The first place where we hosted it allowed us to do it there as long as the event was charitable,” said Agro. “We all agreed that was better than the event simply being free entry, and kept it like that going forward. We also feel people are engaged that way, they want to help.”
The Encuentro Camisetero also looks to put behind some of the passion for football’s uglier sides.
“We foment the respect towards the next guy’s passion,” said Agro. “In our events, collectors from rival clubs showcase side by side, like fans from Atlanta and Chacarita or Nueva Chicago and All Boys have done. We want no hatred in football.”
The jersey collecting hobby
For many jersey collectors like Nieszawski, the hobby goes back a long time.
“When I was young my parents gifted me jerseys, but those were bootlegs,” said Nieszawski, “So I said ‘When I get my own money I’ll get the originals.’ When I realized I had over 20 it became clear I was collecting them.”
As with a lot of hobbies, the pandemic hitting in 2020 sent many into overdrive.
“With so much free time I started doing some digging, talking to other collectors, and buying jerseys,” said Nieszawski. “I was the odd one out in my friends group because I was always researching jerseys. My collection now sits at around 250.”
However, showcasing it was still a difficult thing to do for Nieszawski, who described it as feeling at first like “people going through your drawers.”
“But then you start to chat with people who share your passion, people you’ve never met before and instantly become brothers. It was a dream come true, I’m proud of being part of this. And it makes you want to grow your collection to showcase it later.”
For Agro, collecting is something that runs in the family.
“My mom collects lots of stuff, like matchboxes and plates from different parts of the world, so I developed the habit,” he said.
He collects football memorabilia, like issues of the historic Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico, which was published between 1919 and 2018.
“Collecting football jerseys was something I started to do when I grew up, although I still keep the first kit I was gifted, back in 1985.”
Offers you can’t refuse
The Encuentro Camisetero has seen some true jewels of football memorabilia. Agro recalls a collector of Santa Fe province club Unión kits once showcased something that made many attendees emotional.
“He was friends with [Diego] Maradona through his work, so he once showed us a Unión kit signed by him. You couldn’t look at it without tearing up.”
Some displays even get attention across the world. In a recent event, a collector showcased several kits from Serbia and the former Yugoslavia. His exhibition made the rounds on social media and wound up being featured in Serbian newspaper 24sedam.
Other impressive items on show are match-worn kits from iconic players, where sweat stains and grass smudges are treasured rather than despised. Top picks include jerseys worn by Brazilian great Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira and even a 1986 World Cup kit used by Héctor “El Negro” Enrique.
“A collector was showing a 1994 Mexico national team kit, one it’s incredibly hard to find,” recalled Nieszawski. “A guy offered US$300 for it. I don’t think I’d ever pay that much for a jersey, but he insisted it was worth 10 times more outside the country and closed the deal. We couldn’t believe it.”
A federal encounter
Interest in jersey collections has made the Encuentro Camisetero a nationwide event, hosting a meeting in the northwest province of Salta in 2023, the first away from Buenos Aires.
The suggestion came from a group member in charge of organizing the event who worked in tourism for Salta’s Culture Ministry. A group of 16 collectors traveled from Buenos Aires and others from provinces like Tucuman, Mendoza, La Rioja, Santiago del Estero and Formosa. Five were based in Salta.
The exhibition, featured in Salta newspapers and visited by over 600 people, lasted eight hours but left people wanting for more.
“Hours after we closed people showed up wanting to take a look”, said Agro. “They asked us if we were going to open the next day and kept requesting we make another one.”
The success means collectors from other provinces are hoping for an Encuentro Camisetero of their own.
“We’ve been asked to go to Tucuman and that’s in the works,” said Agro. “A group of collectors in Mendoza is organizing a small event to test the waters, and there’s also proposals from towns in the province of Buenos Aires.”
By their admittance, the event has grown faster and become wider in scope than any of them predicted, but in their eyes that can only be a good thing.
“We’d like to visit each Argentine province at least once,” said Nieszawski. “For us, this is simply a meeting where we make friends because it’s a passion we all share.”
