Football World Cup 2026
Union politicians criticize the price of national team jerseys
Updated June 1, 2026 – 5:35 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
75 euros for children, 100 euros for adults: That’s how much the new World Cup jersey costs at Adidas. This is too much for many families – at least the Union thinks so.
Two weeks before the start of the World Cup, the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag called on the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas to reduce the prices for World Cup children’s jerseys. A children’s jersey currently costs at least 75 euros at Adidas, while an adult jersey starts at 100 euros. The “Rheinische Post” reported on this.
Stephan Mayer, sports policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, described the price of 75 euros for a children’s jersey as “an enormous financial challenge” for many families. “Especially here I would like Adidas to find a way to at least offer these jerseys at a significantly lower price,” the CSU politician told the newspaper. Politics has no influence on pricing, says Mayer. But he emphasized: “We all want the national football team to have a lot of fans among the children; for this to happen, they have to be able to identify with the team, and this includes the jersey.”
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Jens Lehmann, vice-chairman of the sports committee in the Bundestag, also expressed criticism. The CDU politician referred to the high demand for the jerseys and said: “As long as nothing changes, there will probably be no rethinking among the manufacturers.” In the end, “the DFB and the manufacturers themselves have to be careful not to alienate their fans through excessive pricing policies.”
The World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico starts on June 11th. The current jerseys are also the last that Adidas will produce for the German national team: after more than 70 years, the supplier contract between the German Football Association and the manufacturer from Herzogenaurach near Nuremberg is ending. From 2027, the US manufacturer Nike will take over the equipment of the German team. To match the venue, Adidas has reissued the home and away jerseys from the last World Cup held in the USA in 1994. According to Adidas, other jerseys from the national team’s successful sporting times are also experiencing a revival.
