D FIFA has struck again, as merciless as one has come to expect from the international football federation. Once again it pushed through a reform without regard to the interests of the fans. The world football calendar foresees, for the coming years, a longer international match window in September and October. The gang around chief villain Gianni Infantino probably did not think about the consequences for an entire city and its world-renowned club with this decision. Because—and now readers of these lines must be very strong—that until 2030 FC Bayern Munich will not host a home game during Oktoberfest.
What will happen to the tradition, besides the home, away, and alternate jerseys for the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal, of also adding a dedicated match kit for the Oktoberfest period to the fanshop? Will the beloved ugliness with oak leaves and ornamental script no longer exist?
Will the team ever again wear a green-beige jersey, as it did on Friday evening during the Wiesn stroll against Werder Bremen? And how will the club pay its players’ salaries in the future if it can no longer offer a limited “Match-Kit-Box” in Wiesn design with a specially designed Oktoberfest crest of the club for 250 euros to its well-heeled customers?
Will the Munich boulevard press only be able to report on Oktoberfest visits by figures like Heidi Klum, the Kaulitz twins, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Dorothee Bär, because there will no longer be any nice stories of players’ outings to the folk festival? That Bayern’s new signing Nicolas Jackson did not wear Lederhosen at his first Wiesn visit sparked a heated debate in the entire city for almost a week.
No one in Munich was surprised that Theresienwiese had to be closed over the weekend due to overcrowding. After all, it was the last chance to spot a Bayern player at the folk festival. The highly official FC Bayern team visit to the Celebrity Tent will also no longer take place when the stars are with their national teams. For October 5, that will probably be the Bayern’s last corporate outing to the Käfer tent. It will be the farewell to a beloved tradition. Thank you, FIFA!
