Ahead of Bulgaria's qualifier against England on September 2, the football union in Sofia plans to launch on the market - in an apparent fit of patriotism, combined with commercial flair - T-shirts with the Balkan country anthem on it.

The T-shirt is white and on its front side there is a ball with the flags of both countries and the date of the match stamped. On the back the text of the Bulgarian national anthem "Mila Rodino" is printed.

Fans can buy the T-shirt at the price of BGN 10.

The Bulgarian Football Union has called on "fans and patriots" to purchase the item, which will be on sale as of August 22.

The Bulgarian football team, which has recently brought only disappointment to its fans, will play in the upcoming qualifiers against England on September 2 in Sofia and on September 6 in Switzerland.

Last week Belarus national football squad put to shame Bulgaria and its German coach Lothar Matthaeus after defeating it 1:0 in a friendly game.

In Bulgaria experts and fans have attributed the deplorable performance of the squad to the absence of the most experienced pair Stilian and Martin Petrov, who play for Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers.

Lothar Matthaeus left them out of the line-up for the friendly with Belarus, saying he wanted to "test new players" and "see new faces in action" before the qualifier against England.