Liverpool FC legend Bruce Grobbelaar joined thousands of supporters in South Africa this week as the club officially opened its newest standalone retail stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg.The openings also mark another major milestone for the club’s global retail expansion, with Liverpool FC becoming the only European football club to operate official standalone retail stores in Africa.
Grobbelaar was greeted by huge crowds at both locations as supporters gathered to celebrate the landmark openings.
South Africa is home to 12.5 million Liverpool FC supporters – more than any other Premier League club – alongside a cumulative TV audience of 37 million last season, highlighting the club’s strong and passionate fanbase across the region.
Supporters also had the opportunity to see the UEFA Champions League trophy up close during the week’s celebrations, alongside appearances from Mighty Red.
Away from the store openings, Grobbelaar also spent time experiencing South African culture, including visits to iconic landmarks such as Table Mountain, meeting students at a local school and taking part in a traditional braai.
Liverpool FC continues to lead the way in global football retail, operating more standalone retail stores than any other sports team worldwide, with a growing presence across key international markets.
Lee Dwerryhouse, senior vice president of merchandising at Liverpool FC, said: “The response from supporters across Cape Town and Johannesburg has been incredible and reflects the passion that exists for Liverpool FC throughout South Africa. Seeing thousands of fans come together to celebrate these openings made it a very special week for everyone involved.
“Having Bruce Grobbelaar with us throughout the launch activities added another important connection with supporters in the region, while the launch of our new home kit helped create even more excitement around the store openings. These new stores are an important step in our continued global retail growth, and we’re excited to bring official standalone Liverpool FC retail stores to Africa for the first time.”
The launch week also coincided with the unveiling of LFC and adidas’ new 2026-27 home kit, training wear and collections, with supporters among the first to be able to purchase the strip in-store as part of the celebrations.
Beyond South Africa, club legends also joined fan events across multiple international markets to mark the new kit release, with Dirk Kuyt visiting Singapore and Bangkok, Sami Hyypiä taking part in activities in Copenhagen, and John Barnes and John Aldridge greeting supporters at the Liverpool ONE store.
Additional launch activity also took place across Asia, including events at the club’s Jakarta and Surabaya stores in Indonesia alongside a new pop-up store in Bali. Supporters also took part in an LFC x adidas running club event at a pop-up store in Tokyo, while Reds fans in China visited the club’s Shenzhen and Hong Kong stores as well as a newly opened pop-up location in Guangzhou.
