When we opened our Oslo store in December 2025, we didn’t know exactly what to expect.
What followed exceeded every expectation.
Thousands of football fans walked through our doors. We met collectors, groundhoppers, ultras, families buying their first shirt together, tourists searching for a unique souvenir and supporters who simply wanted to talk football.
The World Cup only amplified that passion. Demand for football shirts reached levels we’ve never experienced before, and it was incredible to see how football could bring so many people together.
Unfortunately, passion alone isn’t always enough to make a physical store sustainable.
Despite strong sales and fantastic support from the football community, the financial reality of operating a specialist retail store in central Oslo became increasingly difficult. High rent, rising operating costs and the VAT system on second-hand clothing all played a part in our decision to close the store.
Featured by Norway’s biggest business newspaper
Our journey recently caught the attention of E24, Norway’s leading business newspaper, who shared the story behind TheFootballIdiots, the success of the store and why we ultimately made the difficult decision to close it.
If you’d like to read the full article, you can find it here:
This isn’t goodbye to Oslo.
Closing the store doesn’t mean we’re leaving Oslo behind.
We’re already exploring new ways to be present in the city—through pop-ups, events and future concepts that fit our business better. We genuinely believe this is the end of one chapter, not the end of the story.
Thank you.
To everyone who visited the shop, bought a shirt, sold us part of their collection, recommended us to a friend or simply stopped by to talk football:
Thank you.
Your support helped turn a small online business into something much bigger than we ever imagined.
Our Stavanger store remains open as always, and our online store continues to ship authentic football shirts to collectors and fans around the world.
This isn’t the end.
It’s simply the start of the next chapter.
– Alex, Alan and Suhaib
TheFootballIdiots