Company left with 18K England World Cup winners shirts

Fans of England during the first half of a quarterfinal game against France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al-Bayt Stadium. Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Company left with 18,000 England World Cup winners shirts

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 12/13/22

Football failing to come home once again broke England hearts and cost one company quite a bit of cash.

According to Jess Sharp of Sky News and ITV, Wholesale Clearance UK managing director Karl Baxter explained that he had 18,000 shirts made to celebrate England winning the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1966. The shirts that feature the slogans "England, Cup Winners 2022, It's Finally Home" and "The Day It Came Home" were printed before the Three Lions fell to France 2-1 in the tournament's quarterfinal round this past Saturday.

Its coming Home England Shirts!https://t.co/cyu93V4Uz7
— Wholesale Clearance (@WholesaleClear) December 9, 2022

"We had a load of blank football shirts that we bought a couple of years ago, which we had not done a great deal with, so I decided to take a gamble on the crest of the wave England were riding and get some shirts printed in anticipation of success," Baxter said. "Well over and above the shirts we have, as an England fan I am absolutely gutted we went out in the way we did."

North American sports leagues such as the NFL and MLB routinely print championship shirts for both clubs participating in a Super Bowl or World Series. This past February, Jordan Mendoza noted for USA Today that merchandise of a losing team is donated to people in need overseas.

The updated online posting for the England shirts humorously says:

"Well…this hasn’t gone to plan! Thanks to some dubious decision making, England’s cup dreams are over until the next tournament. We have reduced the price of these unique items as we certainly won’t be getting any more! So wear it with pride, add it to your collection, use it to clean the windows…we don’t know."

Baxter and Andy White, Wholesale Clearance UK head of sales, both pointed out that the shirts could technically be used to celebrate England winning the UEFA European Women's Football Championship earlier in the year.

The England men may have fallen short of their ultimate goal, but they did provide supporters with an updated Christmas version of a classic and beloved tune: