“We’re not the only ones”: The flag muffler finally disappeared from FIFA stores at the Women’s World Cup [Women’s World Cup site].
In the FIFA 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup, there was no Korean muffler in the FIFA store in the stadium.
In line with the opening of the 스포츠토토 Women’s World Cup on the 20th, FIFA produced various goods such as T-shirts, hats and mufflers with the flags of each participating country. However, Korean soccer fans who visited the FIFA online store found a serious error in the design of the Taegeukgi. The four trigrams of ‘Geongongamri’ engraved on the four corners of the Taegeuk pattern are simplified and drawn with only one ‘Geongua’. While the Taegeukgi pattern and four trigrams were properly produced, only the Taegeukgi pattern embroidered on the muffler was wrong. During the Qatar Men’s World Cup in December last year, the team’s cheering muffler was accurate in design with the Taegeuk pattern and four trigrams, and even had the word ‘Republic of Korea’ written in Korean.
The price of cheering mufflers for each country in the Women’s World Cup was 20 euros (approximately 29,000 won), the same as in the Qatar World Cup, and Korean fans were outraged at FIFA’s careless design of the national flag, which lacked respect and sincerity. As the controversy intensified, KFA said, “In the case of the FIFA World Cup muffler, FIFA itself manufactures it. It was not made with KFA’s permission or approval.” there is a bar
After that, the Korean cheering muffler disappeared from the scene. On the 25th, at the Sydney Football Stadium FIFA Store, where the first match against Colombia was held, there were items such as key chains, T-shirts, hats, and beanies with the Taegeukgi logo engraved on them. The sales clerk said, “Korean products have not arrived. I have not even heard of them coming.” Utilizing the summer vacation, passionate women’s soccer fans who flew from Korea to Australia to cheer for them, and Australian fans who passionately cheered on Korean players, turned their heads in front of the store, regretting it.
On the 30th, at the Adelaide Hindmarsh Stadium FIFA Store, where the second match against Morocco was held, green and red mufflers symbolizing Morocco were on sale. When I searched for a Korean cheering muffler, the answer came back saying, “There is no Korea.” Instead, he unfolded commemorative goods, saying, “There is a ‘Korea flag’.”
FIFA’s merchandise marketing was centered on European teams with strong purchasing power. The type and quantity of products on site differed from country to country. On the 28th, 40,000 spectators gathered for the England-Denmark match at the Sydney Football Stadium, the same as the Korea-Colombia match. The types of English souvenirs sold on site were diverse, and the number of related products was much larger. As most of them are family fans, products for children, youth, and infants also sold like hot cakes.
I suddenly thought, even if there was such an error in England, a powerhouse in women’s soccer, or the USA national team goods, would FIFA have passed the entire tournament without any ‘reorder’ production? In this tournament, Japan won three consecutive group stage matches, while South Africa and Jamaica advanced to the round of 16. Although women’s football in Asia, Africa, and Latin America is making rapid progress, and FIFA calls for ‘Football Unites the World’, a world without discrimination, indifference and limitations to women’s football periphery still exist. Waiting for the strong Germany game to be held at Brisbane Stadium at 7:00 pm on the 3rd after 2 consecutive losses, the FIFA muffler ‘without us’ is bitter again. In the next Women’s World Cup, I hope that Korean women’s soccer will take off proudly and Korean fans will be able to cheer hotly wearing the official ‘Taegeukgi’ muffler.