Soccer and smurfs have always had a close association with each other. This is probably not surprising considering that both soccer and the smurfs are extremely popular in Europe.
To continue with this close association, Schleich will be releasing 8 special soccer smurfs in conjunction with the 2016 European Championships being held in France between 10 June to 10 July 2016.
The Footballer Smurfs will be made using the same mould as Playmaker (Schleich ref# 20527) and each smurf will be painted in their national kit colours and with the flag of their country displayed on the white & navy blue checkered ball.
So far only four Footballer smurfs have been confirmed by Schleich in January. This is largely due to qualifications still taking place. A good example of this are countries like Holland and Belgium who have not yet qualify.
These are the following smurfs confirmed by Schleich so far:
Footballer Smurf Germany – 20790
Footballer Smurf France – 20791
Footballer Smurf Spain – 20792
Footballer Smurf Italy – 20793
It is unclear at this point of time if Schleich will sell these like they did with the Budesliga Smurfs. When Schleich released these back in the early 1980’s each smurf was sold in it’s individual display box along with a sign displaying the team’s logo.
The Bundesliga Football Smurfs can generally be found on most Smurf Collector’s most wanted list. I guess time will tell if they become as collectible as Bundesliga Football (Soccer) Smurfs!
In the comic book – Smurf Vs Smurf there is a reference to a game called Smurfball. The story goes that Grouchy refuses to play in a game of Smurfball and instead kicks the ball. Upon doing this the smurfs decide to change the game into one of kicking the ball across the field into the other team’s goal. From that point on, the sport would be played by the North Smurfs and the South Smurfs as the two teams.
So as you can see the connection between the smurfs and soccer is forever strong.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B