The opening match of EURO 2024, which kicked off last night in Munich, was a great success, with Germany beating Scotland 5-1 and good performances from both the starting and substitutes' sides. Watching the match on TV at home with an Altbier (a local Düsseldorf speciality) in my hand, I was curious about the Chinese characters appearing in the stadium advertising, so I did some research and found that five of the 13 international sponsors of the tournament were Chinese companies (BYD for cars, vivo for smartphones, Hisense for home appliances, AliExpress for online shopping and Alipay for payments). I believe that China, like Saudi Arabia, places great emphasis on football as soft power, and while the intention may be to promote football domestically and internationally, I believe the real intention is to boost exports by raising awareness and image in the European and German markets.
The hotel is not doing as well as expected due to severe staff shortages and the crowding out of regular business travellers and international tourists, and the restaurant is also concerned that regular customers will only be displaced by football fans and not necessarily lead to increased sales. Public viewing does not seem to sell sausages or beer surprisingly well, as everyone is focused on watching/cheering the game, and after Corona and the Tokyo Olympics sold a reasonable amount, it is unlikely that additional TVs will sell like hotcakes. It is said that only UEFA in Switzerland, the organisers of the tournament, will benefit from the huge broadcasting rights fees and ticket revenues, and we should not expect the economic boost from EURO 2024 to help the sluggish German economy. However, at least the German national team's new uniforms (especially the controversial pink away-jerseys) and beer sales seem to have increased somewhat. If the German national team plays well enough to leave a lasting impression of "well done" and "thank you", I think we can expect a certain amount of "feel-good effect", which cannot be seen or strictly measured, but will have a positive effect in the medium to long term.
In 2006, Germany hosted the World Cup and the excitement of finishing third is still being talked about as a "Sommermärchen (summer fairy tale)". This time the excitement will be even greater, it will be called "Sommermärchen 2.0" and I will continue to support the German national team in the hope that it will be chosen as the "Wort des Jahres 2024" (the Buzzword of the Year) at the end of the year.
🌍🤝 Football truly unites!