Chinese customs seize more than 1,000 unauthorised replicas of FIFA World Cup


Fancy a World Cup? Chinese customs officers have seized more than 1,000 fake trophies at a warehouse
Culled from MAILONLINE

The sight of an Englishman lifting the World Cup trophy this summer was already a distant dream for many England supporters.


But now those chances have taken an even bigger hit - thanks to custom officials in China.

The country has thwarted more than 1,000 shots at glory by seizing boxes rammed full of fake trophies at a warehouse.

The 1,020 statuettes were found in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang province, which has among the busiest export trades in the world.
Just like the real thing? The mementos found in Yiwu city were due to be exported to Libya
Golden: With a group including Uruguay and Italy, the fakes could have been England's best shot at glory
The fakes, which from afar bore a remarkable resemblance to the real thing, were due to be exported to Libya.

The General Administration of Customs of China launched a campaign in April to crack down on football-related copyright theft ahead of the tournament in June.

Brazil's World Cup is expected to make huge sums in merchandising, and China has a valuable dog in the fight: its factories have manufactured a million versions of the official armadillo mascot.

England captain Steven Gerrard will hope to lift the real thing in the summer, with the Three Lions pitted in a group containing Italy, Costa Rica and Uruguay to begin their campaign in Brazil.

See more photos after the cut :
Crackdown: China has valuable legitimate trade with Brazil and has made a million World Cup mascots
Lined up: The rows upon rows of identical gleaming trophies which were found in the Chinese warehouse
Iconic: The FIFA trophy on which the fakes are modelled replaced the earlier Jules Rimet Trophy in 1974
Eye for details: The fakes contain all the past winners of the trophy on the base - although it was West Germany which won the 1974 edition

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