Summary
- Borussia Dortmund collaborates with One Piece
- Fans can experience anime characters in a unique football setting.
- Exclusive goodies and activities to be offered
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German football giants Borussia Dortmund made a surprise announcement this Saturday when they revealed a brand-new collaboration with Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation’s One Piece. The football club describes the relationship as “combining the excitement of football with the adventurous spirit and teamwork of the beloved Straw Hat Crew”, and the effects of this newly announced relationship will be visible from the club’s game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on March 30, 2025, at their iconic home ground, the Signal Iduna Park. The announcement came with an eye-catching visual featuring the Straw Hat Crew wearing the iconic black and yellow of Borussia Dortmund.
This isn’t the first time that a football club has collaborated with an anime, with football-focused hit series BLUE LOCK pairing with Italian supergiants Inter for their pre-season in the 2023/24 season; as well as with English giants Liverpool FC in February, and the appearance of Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo in the 2024 Christmas Special episode of Doraemon.
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About the Borussia Dortmund x One Piece Collaboration
The Borussia Dortmund official website describes the collaboration as an attempt to offer fans a variety of activities to experience their favorite characters from the anime series in a unique football setting. This will include a special walking act featuring the Straw Hat Crew’s doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, and Borussia Dortmund’s mascot, Emma, and fans will be offered an exclusive “BVB x ONE PIECE” goodie bag. From March 24 to April 5, fans will be able to try out the One Piece card game, with trial sessions of the game hosted by Bandai Card Games and exclusive limited promo cards given to fans who visit the Dortmund Fanwelt during the collaboration’s duration.
Many of our players are big ONE PIECE fans, so Borussia Dortmund has had already a natural connection to the anime for a long time. Last year we did activations together during our tour in Asia. Now ONE PIECE visits our stadium in Dortmund – it is the logical next step of our partnership and we are excited to host them.
– Borussia Dortmund Managing Director Carsten Cramer
The goodie bag will contain a scarf, stickers and an exclusive promo card. The collaboration follows Borussia Dortmund’s tour of Asia in 2024, during which the club collaborated with One Piece anime production studio Toei Animation, an experience that many of the club’s players enjoyed due to their love for One Piece. To top it all off, the official X account of Borussia Dortmund shared an image of a Number 23 jersey signed by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda himself.
Source: Borussia Dortmund on Instagram, BVB 09 official website