SS Moore is as much part of the Belfast landscape as The City Hall itself. For as long as I can…read moreremember it's been there. This is no accident or fluke, you need to be on top of your game to hang on to such a prized retail location and these guys have been. SS Moore specialize in real quality sports equipment and wear. This is the first place I visit when I need a new pair of football boots because I know the staff are knowledgeable and will provide a genuine insight in to your purchase. This was the case yesterday, I went in with the aim of getting a pair of football boots with thicker leather and while I was caressing (that makes it sound creepy) the various boots on display a helpful member of staff approached me and asked what I was looking for (or maybe it was 'what are you doing!?'). When I told him my plight he brought me out a whole host of boots that had thicker leather, unfortunately none of them were in my size! That's my only tiny niggle with SS Moore, they don't have a huge stock and tend to sell out quickly. If you're looking for regional sports kits like Linfield, The Ulster Rugby Team or the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Jersey this is one of the few places, excluding the official shops, that you can get them. There aren't many better sports shops around in my opinion - if you're looking for something specific or niche make SS Moore's your first stop.

SS Moore is an Athletics Store right across the road from Belfast's City Hall. So it has a prime…read morelocation within the city. Unlike most other sports stores, which just deal in replica football shirts and clothes that make you look suspicious on a street corner. SS Moore sales sports equipment for a wide range of sports, both mainstream and the smaller sports. Their staff have a great knowledge of the equipment they sell and will always help you make the right choice. My experience of this shop and their great staff was when I was looking for a new football kit for the Sunday league team I play for. SS Moore have a wide range of catalogues to look through and they are always willing to recommend which offer they think will best suit you and they don't charge extra for having the kits delivered to their shop! They were a great help and I'll be going here more often for anything remotely sporty!

Ah haaaaa.... yet another sports shop in the city. I really do not know how they all seem to…read moresurvive with such intense competition between, what are more or less identical stores. JD Sports in my opinion is a bit of a runt compared to the larger and perhaps more prestigious JJB chain. For a start it's smaller and has a much denser range. It also focuses primarily on the clothing aspect of sport rather than the accessories to go along with it. This store hasn't been open all that long but when I called in today it was absolutely heaving with families and youngsters eager to get the newest football top or a new pair of boots.

Really handy sports store located at the Boucher Road Retail outlet. The choice of football kits,…read moresportswear and trainers is excellent. In terms of staffing they could do with perhaps putting a few more people on at peak times. We were in on a Saturday afternoon and struggled to locate a free staff member. I must stress that every member of staff working was busy! They are currently the exclusive high street stockists of the Northern Ireland soccer kits and training gear. It's not cheap though. A shirt will set you back £50 and any other merch is around £30!

Great sports shop with plenty of parking. The only place to get all the official Northern Ireland…read moregear before the Euros! Staff are helpful! If your size isn't on the shelf ask and they'll be happy to go out the back of the store to look!

Podium is a huge sports shop located in the slightly strange location of the Montgomery Road, not…read moreanother shop in sight so you have to make a journey specifically there. No great hardship I suppose. They sell all manner of sports and outdoorsy stuff for adults and kids. I tend to get my gym gear there, often in the sale and usually pay around £20 for really good USA Pro bottoms and £10 for a top. And it lasts for ages even after being constantly washed. I also take the kids there for football boots, tennis racquets and mouth guards (which seem to be swallowed up into some black hole on a weekly basis). They give 10% discount to pupils of some Belfast schools so it's worth asking if your kids' school is one of them. There's a large range of Canterbury tops and bottoms. Canterbury is the must have casual brand these days and pretty expensive, but Podium often have reductions going on which is when I but a few pieces. If you need trainers, Podium is a good place to head to as they have a huge range and the staff actually know which shoe is best for different types of sport. My next purchase is going to have to be the dreaded football kits for my 2 boys. What on earth is the attraction of over priced nylon shorts and tops in lurid colours? Clearly a boy thing. Podium 4 Sport Ltd. ,Belfast, Castlereagh,

This sports shop on Montgomery Road would be my favourite. The shop is massive, very spacious and…read morewell laid out. There are a lot of different types of bikes, accessories and bike specialists to help with any enquiries. The shop stock a good range of Ulster & Ireland rugby shirts etc along with other clothing and sports lines. There is a good range of football and rugby boots and a really good collection of Asics trainers. There is a Ticketmaster in this store which is great for getting concert/event tickets. I never have much luck with Ticketmaster online so this is handy. If you are a frequent customer they offer a 10% loyalty card that you just show at the till for extra bargains! The staff are by far the most friendly and helpful from any sports shop I have been in.

Much like the other reviewers here, I am going to try and review this shop for the merits of the…read moreshop for the quality of the shop and its merchandise , and try and avoid talking about the football club and all the negative connotations that brings. The shop is crammed full of Celtic orientated merchandise. There are all the kits which can be customised with genuine SPL printing, but for me this is where the decline in quality starts.The rest of the merchandise is quite frankly heavily branded and overpriced tat, much like that in any club's store. Is there any real need for a Celtic themed babygro? When choosing office stationary, are you going to want to emblazon all your items with the Celtic logo? The answer to these questions should indeed be no, unless of course you would directly in Celtic's offices or are a wag of a Celtic player! Unless you are a die hard supporter, stay well away.Even if you are a die hard, you can easily get the shirts for cheaper elsewhere online or in reputable sport stores nationwide!

Unfortunately, the majority of sports fans in Belfast have an affiliation with either Celtic or…read moreRangers based purely on religion rather than any other particular loyality. I could safely say most people that wear a shirt from one of these shops could not name the starting 11 of either side. Yet affiliating themselves with such teams says more about them than it does about the team. Scottish football is not that spectacular. I watch alot of football and although it is much better than anything this country has produced North or South, it is still a dreadfully boring and one-sided league. The Celtic Collection is therefore a shop which aims at capitalising on this "support". Selling everything a Celtic fan could want, it is a genuinely dedicated fan-shop. You have everything from shirts and shorts, to pencil cases and pictures. If you are a dedicated Celtic fan, then this is the best shop to go to as you will probably go mental over all of the memorabilia you can fit into your pockets. However, this shop is always going to be tainted with the fact that there are idiots from both sides of the fence who are hell-bent on throwing stones and annoying their opposition whilst wearing the shirts of their respective Scottish teams. This shop therefore does not seem to do anything other than encourage religious hatred. There are no other fan-shops belonging to teams with bigger support (United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, the Pool). There are however shops which are dedicated to sectarian idiots. As good as Celtic Collection is, it does not represent the Scottish giants, but rather the disgusting under-belly of Belfast. Shouldn't have a place here

Located within Holywood Exchange retail park, Decathlon is the cheapest sports shop (warehouse)…read morearound. No matter what you're looking for Decathlon will have it. They have everything from Canoes to Dart Boards. Often with cheaper sports shops you sacrifice quality for price but this is not the case at Decathlon. They sell their own brand items called Kipsta and I must say that these aren't great quality but likewise they sell big name brands like Nike and Adidas at a lower price than other High Street stores. This Decathlon is huge - you could spend a full afternoon here wandering through the isles. I would make a list of what you want before visiting or else you'll come out with a new home gym and nowhere to put it. Great parking is also available - really handy if you are buying a bigger item and need to cart to the car.

Massive store and very tempting. You go in looking for one item and end up coming out with half a…read moredozen other things. They have equipment for every sport that you could think of racket sports, Kites, windsurfing, swimming, running, horse riding, boxing, biking etc etc I have bought many items from decathlon and found the quality good enough and all at very reasonable prices. I have bought cycling helmets, gloves, goggles, clothing and ski equipment, many big name brands are available and at better prices than other sports stores. They have a loyalty card scheme too.

O'Neills is a sporting goods shop primarily famed for its dedication to Gaelic Gear equipment and…read moresportswear. Located next to world-famous (kind of) Casement Park, this shop does a big trade from gaelic supporters which there are plenty of in Andersonstown. The shop has a typical sports shop lay-out, with displays and racks of goods stocked around the floor. There is always a problem with sports shops that they are all quite expensive and the majority of their products can be found if you shop around on the internet. O'Neills does have expensive enough tracksuits and equipment, but the gaelic jerseys are pretty much as cheap and you are going to find anywhere else. The staff are more than happy to let you browse about and are very approachable if you require any assistant. One particular member of staff was more than happy to look out the back to see if they had a rain jacket I was looking for in my size. Turned out they didn't but he was happy to order it for me. I told him it was grand and got it off their website instead but the staff are really nice and more than helpful. I can see why there are more and more of these sports shops opening up all over Ireland as it is a very well run, efficient, pleseant shopping experience.

A lot of visitors to Belfast like to bring back souvenirs when they're going home. For many of…read morethem, if they have friends or relatives who originally hail from here (or, indeed, if they hail from here themselves) they like to bring back items that are specific to a particular area or region as a symbol of their roots or ancestry. That's why the souvenir of choice for a lot of people is GAA shirts. Most opt for the county tops, with some even going as far as getting local club tops. O'Neill's is a stockist of such items, and sells county jerseys for around £25 - £40 (depending what time of year you buy them I think - if you can leave it until late August, which is near the end of the GAA season, then they're at the lower end of this price range). It also supplies some sporting equipment, including hurling sticks, as well as some rugby and soccer items.

Besides the supply, obviously, of Linfield team merchandise this shop is a purveyor of gear…read morerepresentative of many other football teams - Liverpool, Manchester, Chelsea, Rangers etc. That includes jackets, shirts, mugs, flags, pictures, footwear - anything to identify interest and allegiance of some that play and/or watch football, even including relevantly packaged sweets. There's also a picture framing service, probably aimed towards team photographs. I'm not remotely football minded so couldn't assess this shop with any insight or authority but to say that the contents are comprehensive, easy to find and the staff are pleasant.