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ADIDAS

Adidas scores marketing success with pink German team shirt

Derided at its unveiling, Germany's pink-and-purple away kit has become the breakout style star of Euro 2024, where it has added a splash of colour to the stands at the host's fixtures.

Germany in pink
Germany's national team away jersey made by Adidas are pictured in official store on March 22, 2024 in Frankfurt am Main. Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

The gaudy number has sold “almost as much” as Germany’s traditional white home strip, Adidas spokesman Stefan Pursche told AFP.

Under normal circumstances, four out of every five shirts sold would be the home kit, but the pink change has had “exceptional” success, Pursche said.

The huge demand has made it Germany’s “best-selling away kit in history”, ahead of previous iconic green or black jerseys.

Despite initial scepticism over the away shirt’s daring palette — and some homophobic or sexist commentary about the choice of colours — the kit has been embraced by fans.

“I think it is courageous to choose such a colour,” fan Alex Mueller, 39, told AFP outside Germany’s game against Switzerland on Sunday, sporting a pink shirt received as a gift.

The shirt was out-of-stock on Adidas’s website on Monday morning, with new supplies to be put online at 08:30 GMT (10:30 in Germany) on Tuesday.

Most of the Adidas’s stores in Germany were also running very low, with only a few very small sizes or children’s models still available.

The popularity of the shirt has made it a hot commodity. Leo, 17, told AFP by Adidas’s Frankfurt shop on Friday that he would take the four pink shirts he had put his hands on to “resell on eBay” at a markup.

“They are the most difficult to get, so it’s there that I can make the biggest gains,” he said.

Sales of the pink kit could continue to rise if Germany progresses deeper into the tournament.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side sealed a first-placed finish in the group stage on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland.

For the 2014 World Cup, Adidas sold some three million Germany shirts, with around half-a-million being sold in the days following Germany’s final victory over Argentina.

The pink strip however figures to be one of the last kits Adidas makes for their home team after decades during which the sportswear company’s three stripes were a fixture on German kits.

US rival Nike has secured the contract to outfit the German national team from 2027.

READ ALSO: ‘Lack of patriotism’ – German football team to cut ties with Adidas after 70 years

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EURO 2024

Can Germany’s hosting of Euro 2024 be judged a success so far?

As the group stage of Euro 2024 reaches its halfway stage the tournament has for the most part run smoothly but from transport issues to outbreaks of violence it hasn't been plain sailing.

Can Germany's hosting of Euro 2024 be judged a success so far?

As Euro 2024 reaches the half way mark with the knock-out rounds to come the tournament has run fairly smoothly, but has not been without troubling incidents from flare ups of violence and severe transport issues for fans.

The Local considers the issues the tournament has had and what Germany has done to solve the problems.

Flare ups of violence and hooliganism 

Overall the tournament has been largely trouble free especially when compared to previous European football tournaments. We are a long way from the dark days of Euro 2000 and even Euro 2016, which were both hit by major outbreaks of trouble.

But there have been flare ups, most recently on Tuesday in Munich ahead of the Denmark vs Serbia match.

As thousands of Serbia fans gathered at Marienplatz there were clashes with police with bottles and chairs thrown in the direction of officers. Seven fans were arrested and several officers were injured. Images of the clashes were posted on social media.

There have been other clashes too, notably a huge brawl involving Serbia and England fans before their opening clash in Gelsenkirchen. There were also clashes between Turkey and Georgia fans inside the stadium during their Group F match.

But there were fears of a lot worse in the run up to the tournament, with German police openly admitting they had no idea how England fans would behave and how many Serbian hooligans would travel to the country.

Ap News, for example, wrote that “a recent surge in violence around football games is contributing to concerns over security when Germany hosts the European Championship.”

But German interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) insisted that police and security forces were ready for “all imaginable dangers”, adding that 22,000 officers would be on duty every day during the tournament.

German police have been working with foreign police forces to communicate about threats, particularly ahead of high-risk matches.

Germany has also stepped up checks at its borders and at train stations and airports. More than 400 people have been arrested since the start of the Euros and about 50 hooligans have been barred from entering Germany.

Cities overrun by fans and travel chaos

For those who don’t follow football or enjoy joining in the fanfare, among the more pressing issues with Euro 2024 is that German cities are overrun with fans.

With match games happening in ten cities around the country, and matches being broadcast on TVs from what feels like every bar and corner store in the country, the tournament is impossible to ignore. But not everyone is happy about it.

A survey by the opinion research institute Civey found that roughly half of Berlin residents are annoyed by the closure of Straße des 17. Juni for the city’s “fan mile”, which is the country’s largest fan zone. The fanzone will remain in place until July 25th.

READ ALSO: Where are the fan zones for Euro 2024 in Germany?

Outside of fan zones, residents have noticed congestion on city streets and packed public transport on match days in some areas.

As would be expected, virtually everything – from Deutsche Bahn trains to local pubs – is operating at a higher capacity with 2.7 million fans from abroad visiting Germany this month.

In particular, public transport in Gelsenkirchen has proven to be a hotspot for travel chaos following matches. The issue was initially reported after the England vs. Serbia match, when crowds of fans were left waiting for trains for hours after the game ended.

READ ALSO: ‘Welcome to Germany’ – Euro 2024 travel chaos raises questions about German efficiency

Bizarrely, representatives from local transport companies brushed off any criticism, suggesting that trains and buses were running effectively. But similar issues were seen again after the Spain vs. Italy match a few days later.

England fans might understandably fear returning to Gelsenkirchen for their last 16 match on Sunday.

It’s not all bad – in fact, for many it’s all good

Even among those who don’t tap into the football frenzy, the championship and all the events and tourists it brings, do offer a chance for local German residents to meet an interesting mix of European visitors.

Among some of the touching highlights so far were Germany falling in love with Scottish fans and Turkish immigrants celebrating their home country’s victory across the country.

A special mention also goes out to Dutch fans who have reliably brought a sea of orange to their team’s games. Pre-match scenes of thousands of orange-clad supporters bopping to the earworm “Left Right” have predictably gone viral.

“I think fans from all over Europe feel very welcome with us,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has said.

Despite the aforementioned challenges, the overall experience of Euro 2024 has so far been positive off the pitch.

With the big matches yet to come the stakes will be raised another notch in the coming weeks, both on and off the pitch.

READ ALSO: How (and where) to watch Euro 2024 games in Germany this week

With reporting by AFP.

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