YIWU: In a campaign launched by the Chinese customs authorities earlier this month to crack down on football-related copyright theft ahead of June’s World Cup tournament in Brazil, customs officials have found 1,020 statuettes, which are not authorised replicas.
The fakes, which are convincingly like the real ones, were due to be exported to Libya. The event is expected to rake in huge sums in merchandising.
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The clones are a shiny gold colour just like the official replicas, making them difficult for the average soccer fan to detect. This was not the first raid of its kind relating to FIFA World Cup fakes.
According to information posted on China’s General Administration of Customs website on March 25, officials in the city of Xiamen had also seized 1,008 fake trophies.
In the past few days, customs officials have seized 21,648 fake Brazil World Cup jerseys. The copycat jerseys were confiscated by officials who said it was difficult to spot the difference between the fakes and the real ones. China is manufacturing a million World Cup armadillo mascots – but those are official.
