News + Trends
Lego enters the world of racing
by Stephan Lamprecht
Playmobil shrinks the Bundesliga players
4.12.2025
Translation: machine translated
Playmobil becomes an official licence partner of the German Football League. From the 2026/27 season, the players of all 18 clubs will appear in miniature format.
This is the biggest co-operation in the company's history to date that Playmobil has announced. As an official licence partner of the German Football League, the Zirndorf-based company will produce a total of 198 player figures for the 18 clubs. Under the motto «Your world. Your stadium.», the product range will be launched at the start of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season.
Eleven figures will be produced for each club, which will not only wear the original jersey designs but also depict the players' individual characteristics. According to the company, the figures are being created in close collaboration with the participating clubs to maximise authenticity.
Impatient fans will be able to get their first taste in March 2026: Six figures will be released as a starter pack. They include prominent names such as Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt). Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Luka Vušković (Hamburger SV) and Saïd El Mala (1. FC Köln) complete the set.
Playmobil emphasises strategic importance
Playmobil board member Bahri Kurter emphasises the importance of the cooperation in a media release. It will create additional relevance with new target groups and thus support the company's strategic development,
Whether this «strategic development» will work in the long term remains to be seen. Playmobil is clearly looking to connect with the business with well-known licences and franchises. Whether Barbie (announced in the summer) or most recently with WWE: a model that company founder Horst Brandstätter had always rejected on the grounds of cost.
The little footballers will undoubtedly appeal to fans young and old and also make the hearts of some collectors beat faster. But from the outside, buying up licences at will seems to me to be a rather thin strategy. Playmobil has been at a standstill for far too long and is still likely to be stored in the minds of large sections of the customer base as being old-fashioned and stale.
The most recently developed new Sky Trails product line is now available in a suspiciously large number of shops at a significant discount. At the very least, this does not indicate a sales hit.
Football will remain an important topic for Playmobil. According to the company, further international collaborations are already in preparation.
Header image: Playmobil
Hamburg local, bookworm, and ice hockey fan. Dad and granddad. Constantly tinkering around with my smart home setup. I love DIY, the outdoors, fashion, and cosmetics.
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