FC Groningen opens a fanshop in Herestraat, Groningen, on Thursday evening. The store is located at number 5 and is a long-awaited wish of the club. The opening was inadvertently announced by a contractor who is renovating the building. FC Groningen confirmed the arrival of the store later on Wednesday afternoon on the club's website and social media. According to FC Groningen, the building was stickered with the text: ‘Goudwinkel Meijer, opens soon’ to prevent the announcement of the FC store in Herestraat from becoming public knowledge earlier. The club did this with a video featuring former FC player Hennie Meijer, whose name is still displayed on the facade with an advertisement for ‘Goudwinkel Meijer’. Meijer won the ‘Gouden Schoen’ in 1991 as the best footballer in the Eredivisie. The strip pattern is a subtle reference to the shirt worn at the time. The doors for the general public will open on Thursday evening (4 June) at 18.00. From then on, the store will be open every day from 12.00 to the usual closing times of the other shops in the city center. According to Jordi Hillenga, commercial director at FC Groningen, the establishment of a fanshop in the city center is a long-awaited wish of the club that is now becoming a reality: ‘The opening of a FC Groningen Store in the city center has been under consideration for a long time. The location is of great importance and we have managed to secure a true A-location in Herestraat. We are now even more accessible to our supporters and with this new establishment, we give the growing number of tourists from within and outside the country the opportunity to get in touch with FC Groningen more quickly. The store also gives us an extra option for organizing product launches or events for supporters.’