China gives Fifa fakes the boot as World Cup soccer kicks off in Russia
Counterfeits destined for overseas have been seized across the country, state media report
Chinese customs officers have stopped hundreds of thousands of fake Fifa World Cup products from leaving the country as counterfeiters pounced on the chance to make money from the international sporting event.
Counterfeit goods, mainly footballs and sports clothing, were seized by customs in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Yiwu, the world’s biggest wholesale market, ahead of Thursday night’s start to the World Cup in Russia.
China News Service reported that Guangzhou customs impounded more than 7,800 fake Fifa products, all from one manufacturer and destined for Tanzania.
Huangpu customs, also in Guangzhou, seized 4,500 World Cup-Adidas soccer shirts mixed with a shipment of unbranded shirts, the report said.
In Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, customs officials have discovered more than 130,000 items that allegedly infringed the intellectual property rights of the sporting event, according to earlier CNS reports.
In one major case, nearly 2,500 “Russia 2018” footballs made in Nanjing were seized in mid-April before they could be shipped to Columbia through Yangshan port in Shanghai.