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regular-article-logo Friday, 08 November 2024

Erling Haaland fans! Spare Halland

The popularity of the football phenomenon is completely suffocating our online presence: Jimmy Sandberg

Our Bureau London Published 04.11.22, 03:59 AM
Jimmy Sandberg.

Jimmy Sandberg. File picture

One is a footballer who has scored 22 goals in 15 games since joining Manchester City this season, the other a Swedish region known for its beaches.

Completely unalike, yet online they are being confused.

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Clumsy-fingered fans of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland are causing a headache for the Swedish tourist board who claim a simple spelling mistake is ruining their attempts to market the delights of coastal province Halland.

Twitter posts in which the Norwegian striker’s name is spelt Halland rather than Haaland mean social media users trying to discover the area online are instead directed to endless posts about City’s prolific striker.

The problem has got so bad that Visit Halland director Jimmy Sandberg has written an open letter pleading with fans of Haaland and journalists to spell his name correctly. “We are Halland. He is Haaland.

“The popularity of the football phenomenon is completely suffocating our online presence,” he wrote.

“To our despair, we now see that all of our efforts promoting Halland are rapidly being wiped away.

“If nothing is done, we fear our dear region is at risk of becoming a forgotten Atlantis, a place only known in stories and ancient scriptures.”

According to Visit Halland’s website the area is an“idyllic west coast province boasting a rich foodie culture and a wealth of outdoor activities, not least cycling and even surfing.”

But instead of stunning photographs of the natural landscape, those searching online see endless photos of Citysensation Haaland.

Sandberg told BBC News: “When you write in Halland, looking for the beautiful region where we live in Sweden, you get Haaland all over the place.

“Since Haaland arrived at Manchester City and scored all those goals, we have been overwhelmed by his presence in our hashtags and in search engines.”

Written with inputs from Reuters

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