By Walter Broeckx
Some people who have seen the game Holland – Denmark might have noticed them. A group of Dutch girls in orange mini dress. They sang and danced and well they were a very nice thing to look at. I would say almost better than most world cup matches I have seen so far. What we haven’t seen is the fact that those girls have been arrested and even could face six months in prison.
So what did they do wrong? It all has to do with beer. And the way Fifa is behaving itself like some kind of fascist organisation.
So let’s start with the beginning, which is maybe a good thing. The official beer sponsor for this world cup is Budweiser (from AB Inbev). But in Holland you have also Heineken, also one of the biggest beer companyies and sponsor of the Dutch league and national team. And also there is a less well known beer company named “Bavaria”.
Now this company Bavaria isn’t as big as the others so they are always looking for alternative ways of publicity. So Bavaria has formed the “Bavaria babes” a group of mostly good looking young girls who go to football games, sit next to each other and are all dressed in the same dress and who sing and dance and so attract some attention of the mainly masculine population in the stadiums. For the world cup Bavaria has made some dresses, the Bavaria dresses, which are in orange and I don’t know if you have seen any pictures of Holland in the last days but the whole country is orange. So the dresses are very well inline with the rest of what Holland is doing for the moment.
The Bavarian babes perform also when the Dutch team plays at home where Heineken is the big sponsor and it has been reported that someone from Heineken has stormed in to the control room of the Dutch TV company NOS to order them to not bring those girls in the picture any more.
Yesterday before the game the Bavaria babes where in the stadium and the crowd loved their dancing and singing. Pictures were taken and all was peaceful and in good mood. Even the control room liked the girls as they brought them in the picture.
But then Fifa wanted to expose themselves as the fascist people they seem to be. A Fifa member came to them in the second half and ordered them to leave the stadium. The girls had the choice: go out in “free will” or with force. The leader of the Bavaria babes asked why and the Fifa person said it was because they were wearing the Bavarian dress. Bavarian dress is the orange dress handed out by Bavaria to those girls. And as Bavaria is not an official sponsor they were not allowed to be in the stadium with those dresses.
The leader of the Bavaria babes told the Fifa member that there was nothing wrong with the dresses and that there only was a very, very small label on the dress with the name Bavaria on it. They then got surrounded with some 30 or 40 stewards and after some pushing and shoving the girls were taken out of the stadium.
But it didn’t end after being pushed out of the stadium. No they were interrogated by some kind of police in the stadium. Most of the girls were held for 2 hours and some for more than three hours.
The Dutch embassy is very disturbed by this and have asked the South African authorities some kind of explanation. They are very worried about the fact that girls with a orange dress can be arrested for hours as almost all the Dutch fans are dressed in orange.
The South African police have now said that they have nothing to do with it and that it is Fifa who has done this including the interrogations of the girls and the holding them in custody for a few hours. It was Fifa’s own security forces that have done this and it seems that they have the right to do this when there is a possible violation of trade marks rights.
Before entering the stadium other Dutch fans had to take of their caps sponsored by Heineken, sponsor of the Dutch team, because the only beer mark that is allowed to be visible in the stadiums is Budweiser.
So if you ever should go to a game organised by Fifa you can better check which things are allowed and which not. If I would go with a Jupiler shirt on, another beer sponsor from the Belgium league, I could get risked being arrested. If I would take my umbrella with me to protect me from the rain where the name Goodyear is on I could risk being thrown out. If I wear something that has the name of any other sponsor on it I could risk not being allowed in.
So why don’t Fifa tell us what to wear? Adidas is a Fifa partner, so I wondered could I wear my Nikes in the stadiums? If you might think: we better could go naked well I don’t know if the reports are true on this but it seems that the Fifa representative have thought about undressing the girls and taking off their clothes. I have read this in two reports, from different countries so I just give it like it is said over there: they wanted to take away the cloths of those girls. But they decided not to go that far because they realised that doing such a thing would even create more publicity for Bavaria.
The funny thing is that before today I didn’t know what the Bavaria babes were. I had seen those good looking girls but I never had linked them to a beer company. I saw them do their dancing and a saw that they were singing a song but I never had any clue about what they were signing. I noticed the people around them always seemed to be happy with their presence, who wouldn’t be.
But now thanks to fascist Fifa and their secret police I know what they are: girls who in a funny way are promoting a smaller beer company, called Bavaria. In a way that only those who know what they are doing, know what it is about. So Bavaria has reached their goal, get some publicity, and this only because of Fifa being so dumb to give them the publicity.
Meanwhile Bavaria have sold some 5.000 dresses in Holland and who knows how many Dutch girls will be in the stadium when the Dutch national team plays their next game. If you see big holes in the crowd when the Dutch play it could be the Bavarian girls who are being arrested by Fifa and who are threatened with 6 (six) months of prison for wearing the wrong dress.
So you not only have to pay a lot of money to go to the world cup, you also must be careful in choosing the clothes you want to wear.
Les Players (Arsenal signings so far this summer)
Somthing similar happened at the 2006 world cup again involving bavaria, however the offending article of clothing worn by both men and women were lederhosen. They were given the choice of removing the clothing or been denied entry into the stadium.The result was quite a few people watching the game in their pants! (including a few girlies, yummy)
I don’t know what is the most disturbing me. The fact that Fifa can tell you what to cloths you can/should/should not wear or the fact that Fifa can seemingly hold you under arrest.
I really thought that holding people under arrest was only possible by police. But to think that Fifa can do this is really beyond me.
On a less serious note: maybe next time the Bavarian girls should prepare themselves and let some bodypainters paint their body’s and paint it full of advertisement for Bavaria. And when Fifa should disalow them entrance with the Bavaria dresses they could undress themselves and go in nacked, well or half nacked.
I think Bavaria beer would be world famous and the most popular beer of the world.
Oh and I don’t drink beer at all so I really have no connection with any beer company in the world.
Now that’s what I call abuses of the imperial capitalism…
One thing sor sure. FIFA definitely can keep monopoly on stupidity.
Meanwhile I have seen a dress in full and on the right hand side of the dress at the bottom is a little blue label with the name Bavaria on it. The seize is about 0,5 cm on 2 cm. You have to bend over and keep your head in a rather compromising position, if you want to remain a gentleman, to actually see it.
This is the very reason why Robbie Earle got sacked!!!
See here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10322048.stm
The “ambush marketing effort” was down to his contacts selling Bavaria beer (probably unknowingly) the tickets.
Sad, I like Robbie. He’s been to my house a few times as his kids went to school with one of mine. Sound bloke, fallen foul of some chancers no doubt.
If you want to moan at anyone, then let it be the yank rip-off budweiser (stolen from the czechs). The americans are all over this world cup like a bad smell.
that’s ridiculous but good for Bavaria and i might google the Bavaria babes later…Thanks fifa..=D
Look Walter
You can’t sell major sponsorship for millions of pounds and then let companies try and get free exposure without paying for it.
And there are rules at Arsenal too. For example that you are not allowed to wear away team’s strip in Club Deck. Those people paid £100 for a ticket to come watch a game at Emirates. But they are not allowed to wear their team’s strip. That’s stated in the contract.
So is Arsenal a fascist club?
I doubt it………
@Walter. Your 9.13 a brilliant idea. Naked, (no c) nubile chicks with directions to the nearest Bavaria pub where they will appear en masse in the body paint should ensure a few million Bavaria beer sales. Mind you, it has got very chilly recently so you can offer my services as a “warmer upper”.
Not sure about the fascist part…Mafia maybe a better word.
the thing that bothers me is that they were withheld.
the only one i will bother saying about this is.. cover the sponsor with tape!!
there, now they look like the rest of the lovely dutch girls, easy!
insane, crazy fifa.
Adam, i’m canadian so you can’t say i have a particular affinity for the americans, but you can’t so easily lump a nation together. it’s just a company, not a people. i’ve met a few dummies there, but there’s good folk there too, no doubt about it.
anyways, i think it would be fifa taking those extremes for the sponsors, it’s all about money for them, there’s no way it’s not connected.
forgot to say, i’m not supporting the dutch for the chicks, but for there lovely brand of football.. ahaha, yeah, the football
On the BBC website is written and I quote:
“Mr Maingot said that none of the women had been arrested.
However, they were reportedly taken to a Fifa office where police quizzed them about the dresses and asked if they worked for the brewery, Bavaria.”
Now in the Dutch press is said that the South African Police has declared at the Dutch embassy that they had nothing to do with this and that it was Fifa who has held the girls.
Could this be another case of Fifa telling lies and more lies? Just like the American judge once said?
Because it is the South African Policy telling a lie or Fifa.
@Rhys Jaggar: I can understand your point (and as an aside, isn’t that a sad indictment of the beautiful game, that it boils down to which multinational has paid for the right to show its logo on television!) but you simply can’t treat people like this.
Did the girls each have an individual letter on, spelling out Bavaria Beer? No.
Were they in an unusual colour to stand out against the mainly orange crowd and draw attention to their sponsor? No.
Essentially, they were wearing dresses in the colour of their national team, and were attractive, and sitting together. If that’s not allowed, then f*ck football and f*ck FIFA.
Rhys, I don’t know if the rule you talk about is Arsenal policy or EPL/FA policy. And this could be a safety ruling to prevent that people start fighting if they see someone in a different shirt. I never have been in Club Deck so I don’t know how agressive the people are over there.
The thing is that all the Dutch fans are dressed in orange, which are the colours of the royal family in Holland, and that there seem to be a difference between orange and orange according to Fifa.
Just imagine that you would enter club deck in a very old Arsenal Tshirt, that is not made by Nike, and that they would tell you to leave the ground because Arsenal shirts should be from Nike and that those are the only one allowed in the ground.
And not only would you have to leave the stadium but some kind of secret police would hold you under arrest for a few hours.
I don’t think Arsenal, as an organisation, has the right to arrest someone.
I really have no idea about the things stewards in England are allowed to do or not. I’m a very peacefull man so I never run in to trouble with the law. But I know in Belgium that stewards are not allow to make arrests. If you behave badly they can try to calm you down and if you still are not under control they can call the police and the police can arrest you, interrogate you, bring you for court. But not the club or the stewards or the Belgium FA.
If someone knows how the rules are in England please let me know.
Bringing this closer to home, one of the more interesting points to come up at the recent AST meetings with Tom Fox and Ivan Gazidis was that relating to Club marketing and, specifically, how ‘aggressive’ (Ivan’s word) the Club would be in it’s pursuit of sponsorship. Both executives expressed the view that their first priority was to look to the traditions of the Club and those ‘ways of doing things’ that set it apart from the rest. The conclusion was that Arsenal would, under their management, never be as aggressive as, say, Man Utd. in in their chase for corporate sponsorship. The logic, I suppose, is that if you have a distinctive brand (which Arsenal most certainly is) then sponsors who seek that same image (traditional, historic,) would seek you out rather than the Club prostituting itself to the highest bidder.
Don’t forget that, although via Herbert Chapman, the Club virtually introduced ‘marketing’ to the world of football (and his bust sat in the Armoury shop at Nike’s request) it also remained resistant to pitch-side advertising far longer than most and even, under the previous Chairman, declared in the programme (many years ago!) that the Club ‘would never do business on a Sunday’.
Times change – but principles, hopefully, remain intact for as long as is feasible. As Warren Buffet once said – there are only two rules to good investment, have a well thought out strategy and stick to it. Arsenal may rightly be criticised for not maximising on the income it generates from sponsors but there’s an upside in terms of it’s image in the corporate world and it’s as far away from the label of ‘fascist’ as you can get.
I have written about the profits that FIFA make from the World Cup and why it’s critically important to their finances, though I also draw a contrast with the financial situation of the host country, if you’re interested:
http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2010/06/money-makes-world-cup-go-round.html
@Swiss Rambler. Good article…very true concerning S’African’s thoughts…(sorry, I meant the average S’African Tax Payer’s thoughts. Those on the gravy train have had a ball.)
But at least attendances (+600 000 as of yesterday)and the overall vibe in the country is very positive. Even the cold snap that arrived to prove we do have a few winter days hasn’t spoilt the atmosphere. Let’s hope it continues.
I am from South Africa, and I think what happened to these girls is absolutely disgusting and outrageous, as well as deeply troubling. Today, 16 June, is an important day in the liberation struggle-history of a certain sector of our population. One would have hoped that, after 16 years of democracy, arresting persons for no reason at all would be a thing long gone. But it clearly is not so. FIFA, on their part, must be careful that their greed for money does not make them petty and childish and, more seriouly, “fascist”.
Tony/Walter a bit random.
When is the article about “the world cup ball Fifa don’t want you to know” about coming out??
Cheers.
SP I did a piece a few days back on the issue of the ball and the altitude. The two are completely linked
Tony
In a similar story a liverpool fan was detained, interrogated/mistreated and accused of being a hooligan for bringing a banner saying hicks & gillet out …
That guy was there with his wife and kid!
details here http://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/liverpool-fc/129499-liverpool-fc-banner-destroyed-by-fifa-in-world-cup-censorship-clampdown.html?
Poor chap must’ve spent thousands of pounds thinking this will be a memory of a lifetime. Turned into a nightmare he won’t forget.
I am in two minds with this. One is that this Bavaria lot are pushing it, they are basically trying to get free advertising and while I am all for the underdog I also dont want stadia full of bimbos employed by small companies on the chance wearing mini dresses or whatever it takes to catch the eye of stadium perv cam.
I also dont want to be a searched for logos upon entering a football match on the offchance some corporate watered down piss sponsor might take offence to it and have be arrested.
Two things to sort this:
One stop showing women spilling out of dresses and actually SHOW THE BLIDDY GAME. Ive always been a grumpy old sod with the showing the crowd anyway.
Two stop dolling out corporate tickets 40 at a time to numpties like Robbie Earle and give them to genuine fans.
Notice none of these solutions need stewards acting as fashion police.