Traders of Black Stars merchandise, particularly jerseys, are weighing price reductions as demand weakens following Ghana’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Many had increased inventory in anticipation of a deeper run in the tournament, but slower sales are now raising concerns over unsold stock and potential losses.
The Black Stars’ campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup delivered a temporary boost to businesses trading in football merchandise, with jersey sales surging as fans rallied behind the national team.
Expecting Black Stars to progress further in the tournament, many traders increased their stock levels to meet anticipated demand.
However, the team’s Round of 32 exit has sharply slowed sales, leaving some retailers with excess inventory and prompting plans to cut prices to recover their investment.
Frederick Ashley is one of the traders prepared to reduce prices to clear his remaining stock.
“[Black Stars] against Panama, the sales increased. A lot of customers were coming in in search of jerseys. We even went out to buy more of the stock so that we could fill our shops. Currently, we have a huge stock in place, but business has gone down drastically.
“It was going for GHȼ250, but when a customer comes and negotiates up to GHȼ200, we used to give it to him or her. So we were planning to come down drastically up to GHȼ150 or even GHȼ130. If a customer comes, we will let it go. It will affect us in a way, but it’s better to recoup what we put in rather than lose everything,” he said in a Citi Business News interview.
Despite the current slowdown, he is optimistic that national events such as next year’s Independence Day celebrations will revive demand for the jerseys.
“As of now we have over 5,000 [jerseys in stock]. But we believe that, as for the Ghana jersey, a lot of people love it and as time goes on, something may come up where somebody may need [it for] independence.
Other traders are also looking to their suppliers for price reductions, saying lower wholesale costs would enable them to offer more competitive prices to customers.
“The prices of the jerseys increased at the wholesale market, so it became difficult to sell them. Now that we have exited the competition, the prices will come down. Customers can get some of the jerseys for GH¢80 to GH¢100,” Yaw Broni told Citi Business News.
“Customers should not expect jersey prices to fall simply because we have exited the competition. If we buy the jerseys at lower prices from our suppliers, we will also reduce our prices for customers,” James Antwi also remarked.
However, not all retailers are willing to discount. Bernard Asamoah says he will maintain current prices, arguing that selling below cost would only deepen his losses.
“I have about 500 Black Stars jerseys left in stock and they are selling for GHS 150 each. Reducing the price would mean selling at a loss,” he stated.
