A business owner has abandoned over 18,000 useless T-shirts proclaiming England as the World Cup champions for 2022.
Karl Baxter, a football fan, got the shirts made before the quarterfinals as he was so confident the Three Lions would triumph in Qatar and return home victorious.
The phrases “England, Cup Winners 2022, It’s Finally Home” and “The Day It Came Home” are written all over the backs of the shirts.
Gareth Southgate’s team lost 2-1 to France in their quarterfinal game on Saturday as a result of Harry Kane’s failed opportunity to strike a tying penalty.
Mr Baxter, speaking to Sky News said, “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.
According to the managing director of Wholesale Clearance UK, which is headquartered in Poole, “Well over and above the shirts we have, as an England fan I am absolutely gutted we went out in the way we did.”
Mr Baxter wrote a message on his website to his customers saying: “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.”
The father of three continued, saying that even though it didn’t cost much to make the shirts and some have already been sold, there are still “some more to get rid of.”
He said, “As they are England cup winners’ shirts, we can always try to sell them not only as the cup that never was…but as celebrating the only actual English winners of a cup in 2022, our fantastic England ladies’ team.”