Vermont state capital, with one L, will receive professional football jerseys from French Ligue 1 club – and give them to high school students

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The city of Montpelier, Vermont has said “Merci” to the French city of Montpellier after its mayor and professional football team announced plans to send some misprinted football jerseys its way.

Bill Fraser, the city manager in Montpelier, Vermont, said the French football team Montpellier HSC had ordered jerseys that came in misspelled, with just one L instead of two.

On Thursday he confirmed that the city in southern France had decided to send the shirts to Montpelier which is spelled with one L, not two.

eldogoargentino 🇦🇷 (@Gravelgrinder4) Le maillot du #MHSC 2017/18 va devenir un collector avec cette faute #Montpellier pic.twitter.com/OQ3yczAva4

The football club announced the same on Twitter, saying they had also obtained the approval of the mayor of Montpellier, Philippe Saurel.

Montpelier in Vermont does not yet know how many jerseys it will get.

Fraser said the current plan was for the jerseys to go to the Montpelier High School soccer teams for a game or two, before possibly being sold in the community to “turn this all into a good thing”.

Montpellier contacted the Vermont city early on Thursday to let officials know about the gift. Montpelier’s Facebook post about the jerseys has generated interest and a number of supportive comments from residents of both cities.

MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) Le Président #Nicollin et le maire de MontpeLLier @saurel2014 l'ont annoncé : Les maillots MontpeLier vont être envoyés à @vtmontpelier 🇺🇸

“Please wear proudly our jerseys, cousins from the New World,” wrote Anthony Fernant d’Aizes.

“How do I get ahold of one of these shirts?!” wrote Daniel Brown, of Burlington, Vermont.

Montpelier’s official Facebook account wrote: “Bonjour! Merci pour les chemises!” which translates to “Hello! Thank you for the shirts!”

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Matt Link, the Montpelier High School athletic director, said there were tentative plans to hold an event with the school’s girls and boys soccer teams wearing the jerseys, followed by back-to-back games.

“We have nice things for our students here but certainly not the level of professional jerseys,” he said. “I’m sure the kids will just be ecstatic.”