The choice of jerseys always causes debate among FC Bayern fans. The Munich team has already worn four different jerseys this season. But it was only the red home jersey in two games. However, Bayern are sometimes subject to special constraints.
Cult defender Sammy Kuffour even sang the Bayern fans’ demand at the championship celebration on the town hall balcony in 2000 – and today it is more relevant than ever, especially for the club’s ultras: “Red and white jerseys, we want red and white Jerseys!”
The choice of jerseys always causes big discussions among Bayern fans. During the 1-1 draw in the top game against Leverkusen – in which the players wore a special black Oktoberfest jersey for Oktoberfest – the Südkurve protested with an XXL poster on which it was written: “§ 1 The club colors are inviolable.”
Completely surprising: In the first nine competitive games of the season, Bayern have only worn the red home jersey at the cup opener in Ulm (4:0) and last weekend in Frankfurt (3:3). There are (of course) economic considerations behind this, but also a special red-green rule of the DFL.
Because: Bayern would have liked to have played in red in both the 3-2 win at the start of the league in Wolfsburg and the 5-0 win in Bremen. However, since both opponents wear green at home games, the teams would not have been distinguishable for people with red-green vision impairment. When choosing their jerseys, the DFL explicitly asks its 36 clubs to take into account spectators in the stadium, in front of the TV and also players like Freiburg’s Lukas Kübler with a red-green weakness.
Every twelfth man and every 200th woman is affected
This was preceded some time ago by an initiative by visually impaired people who sent the DFL photos of themselves watching games (gray players versus gray players). More than 3.5 million Germans suffer from color vision deficiency due to a congenital genetic defect; one in 12 men and one in 200 women are affected.
This request to take the red-green issue into account can also be found in a DFB jersey tool for the referees. Here both teams indicate which jersey they want to wear. The referee then releases the colors.
FC Bayern has already worn four different jerseys this season: twice in red, four times in black away, once in the special Oktoberfest jersey and in the home game against Freiburg and in the Champions League against Zagreb in the traditional jersey with the old e logo . V., which was very well received by the fans.
The flood of jerseys has long been a trend in the league. In addition to Bayern, Frankfurt, Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart also played in four jerseys this season (see table). How attractive the jersey business can be is particularly clear at BVB. The club sells around 500,000 copies every year – the special jerseys are on top of that. Last year, the Revier-Klub launched the special edition “50 Years of the Westfalenstadion” and 75,000 jerseys were sold.
“It is not impossible that we will bring another special jersey onto the market in a few months,” says marketing boss Carsten Cramer. How much the club earns per shirt depends on the sales channel. If the fan buys the jersey directly from BVB – in the fan shop or online shop – after deducting the production costs and all taxes, around 25 to 30 euros per jersey remains (sales price 90 euros). If the jersey is sold through a third party (e.g. in a sporting goods store), only around five to seven euros end up with the club. Overall, Borussia is expected to earn ten million euros net per year.
According to DFL regulations, six different jerseys are permitted per season in the Bundesliga: home, away and third jersey, two special jerseys and the jersey for the coming season on the 33rd and 34th matchdays.
The article was written for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT PICTURE, BILD) written and first published in SPORT BILD.
