Anyone standing on a fan mile this summer is unlikely to miss them: jerseys in the German national colors – but with the logo of a comparison portal, a discounter or a supermarket. For the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, several companies are distributing such jerseys, mostly free of charge.
The Check24 shirt was already omnipresent on fan miles during the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany. For the World Cup, the comparison portal is again distributing jerseys – to everyone who downloads a betting game app, registers there and bets on at least the first match day. According to a spokesman, the demand was so great that the awarding process had to be interrupted for several days. Almost a million orders were received within 24 hours. “We were totally surprised by the rush for our jersey,” said the spokesman.
But there are also other examples: Edeka gave away a fan shirt with purchases of 50 euros or more. The discounter Tedi gives out a jersey for purchases of five euros or more – anyone who also signs up for the newsletter is included. Also at Coca-Cola
Expert: Visibility, sympathy, data
Marketing professor Peter Kenning sees several motives behind such actions. On the one hand, it’s about awareness and sympathy: “With regard to the brand, appropriate actions should help to ensure that the brand is charged with positive emotions and is visible in public spaces for as long as possible,” said the expert from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
The more often people perceive an object, the more they like it – this is what research shows. And sympathy, in turn, correlates strongly with trust. A jersey that is worn for weeks on fan miles, in football bars and living rooms seems like a kind of infomercial.
On the other hand, according to Kenning, it’s about data. Because if you want a free jersey, you usually have to reveal personal information. These are valuable for companies because they enable targeted, personalized advertising. Kenning points to research that shows a certain form of personalized online advertising can nearly triple the profits from an advertising campaign.
Costs difficult to quantify
According to Kenning, it is difficult to say reliably how much such an action will cost. As a rough guide, he uses the Check24 campaign for the 2024 European Championship: around five million jerseys are said to have been brought onto the market at that time – at a total cost of possibly up to 100 million euros. However, the scientist emphasizes that he does not have any reliable figures.
Whether the effort is worth it can be measured in two ways: On the one hand, through classic marketing metrics. With the participants’ data, a company can address customers better and more specifically. Whether someone then clicks on an ad, buys something or concludes a contract can be measured. On the other hand, through surveys that show whether brand sympathy and trust have changed compared to before.
Sports retailers rely on original jerseys
Sports retailers have mixed feelings about the free promotions. Intersport Germany boss Alexander von Preen emphasizes that his association stands for quality and only sells original jerseys. “Of course, sport thrives on competition and competition stimulates business,” said von Preen. “However, free products with a corresponding appearance from non-sports companies have nothing to do with the originals.”
For the 2024 European Championship at home, Intersport retailers alone sold almost 500,000 jerseys. Most recently, the manager expected to be able to exceed this number at the World Cup – assuming the DFB team plays a successful tournament. According to him, the blue away jersey in particular has been very well received. Von Preen is convinced that the World Cup products from Adidas
Cheaper original jerseys required
But the originals have their price. Prices for adult jerseys start at 100 euros, a children’s jersey costs at least 75 euros. Union politicians called on Adidas at the weekend to at least offer children’s jerseys cheaper. Stephan Mayer, sports policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, told the “Rheinische Post” that 75 euros for a children’s jersey was “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.”
Adidas defended its pricing. “The price of the jerseys reflects the high development effort, the extensive testing procedures, the high-quality materials used and also the license fees to the DFB,” the company said. “We recognize that a jersey like this represents a significant purchase, which is why we offer a selection of fan versions at a variety of price points.”
Sports Committee Vice: Don’t alienate fans
The vice-chairman of the sports committee in the Bundestag, Jens Lehmann, referred to the high demand for the jerseys. “As long as nothing changes, there will probably be no rethinking among manufacturers,” the CDU politician told the newspaper. In the end, “DFB and manufacturers themselves have to be careful not to alienate their fans through excessive pricing policies,” said Lehmann.
The World Cup jerseys are the last ones from Adidas for the national team. The supplier contract between the German Football Association (DFB) and the manufacturer ends after more than 70 years. The US sporting goods manufacturer Nike will take over from 2027
the equipment of the German team.