Sports fans across the world can represent their favourite players with pride.
Whether it be soccer fans with Lionel Messi, basketball fans repping LeBron James, or hockey fans pulling on a Wayne Gretzky jersey, the connection remains personal.
Yet, for those in Newcastle wanting to represent Kalyn Ponga or the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faithful who would love nothing more than a Stephen Crichton jersey, the same opportunity has been missing.
However, this might not be for too much longer, with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs CEO, Aaron Warburton, confirming surnames on jerseys are almost set to be locked in for the opening Las Vegas fixtures in 2026.
"Surnames on jerseys is very real," Warburton told SEN.
"We are talking with the NRL about the logistics, and there's a few more hurdles to jump to make sure that's a reality come Round 1 in Vegas, where not only will jerseys feature surnames, but fans will be able to order them with names on."
“I've said to Andrew (Abdo) and the team that if it works in Vegas, then why not do it a couple of times a year like Gather Round."
Whether surnames on jerseys will feature in other rounds remains to be seen, but the implementation of it being available in Las Vegas will surely build momentum for the personalised jerseys to become more common.
