Once upon a time there was a summer fairy tale... the blissful mood that has swept through Germany at every major football event over the past decade and a half is missing at the moment. Even die-hard football fans are at least skeptical about the World Cup in Qatar. fan festivals? Public viewing? Garlands in national colors hanging around your neck and funny merch items everywhere while cheering you on in front of the TV? Somehow not this time.
The dealers who stocked up on fan articles, jerseys and other World Cup merchandise also felt this: Significantly fewer people than at previous events of this type were interested in buying such goods. "It's rather dead pants. The Germany jersey is an absolute slow seller". Bernd Ohlmann, spokesman for the Bavarian trade association, complains in the "Bild". According to the Hamburger Abendblatt, the large mail-order company Otto has also experienced "very low demand" for fan articles or jerseys.
And there are statements like this from all parts of Germany. "The demand for jerseys and fan articles for the World Cup is limited," says Manuela Dietrich-Nagel from "Intersport Schlenker" in the "Badische Neue Nachrichten". According to Radio FFH, there is not much enthusiasm for such products in Frankfurt either: "I can only say that we definitely got fewer jerseys in the store than in recent years. It was probably associated with the war, the special World Cup in Qatar and the Experience from the Corona EM" calculated, according to Thomas Blum, branch manager at Intersport Voswinkel in the Skyline Plaza.
In addition: The original jerseys are quite expensive at 90 euros - for many people at the moment it is probably a luxury that can be dispensed with. In addition, they are short-sleeved, which does not suit the current German temperatures.
This is likely to be a problem, especially for smaller retailers, who are less able to absorb financial losses than large chains. But some still have hope: They are counting on the fact that after the first Germany games there will still be some enthusiasm and thus finally more demand for jerseys and the like.
Sources: "Badische Neue Nachrichten", "Radio FFH", "Bild", "Hamburger Abendblatt"
