FIFA says that the official event stores will be located within 160 branches of Edgars throughout South Africa, with the first shop scheduled to open later this month to coincide with the preliminary draw in Durban on 25 November. Ten further stores will follow on 26 November countrywide in South Africa.
The agreement also includes the right to produce official licensed merchandise for the event. “The shops offer FIFA and the Local Organising Committee a great opportunity to reach out to football fans across the length and breadth of the host country,” said FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke.
The very first official FIFA World Cup shop was opened on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in 1998, following which 18 shops were opened for the event in Korea and Japan four years later. By the time the 2006 FIFA World Cup kicked off, there were 300 shops across Germany.
