HONG KONG: Just hours before the World Cup kicked off, Hong Kong authorities announced they seized 230,000 suspected counterfeit items worth an estimated $20 million, including jerseys tied to the tournament.
The seizure included about 30,000 jerseys, some so finely made that they’re hard to distinguish from authentic team shirts, Wayne Chung, senior inspector at Hong Kong ‘s customs department, said Thursday.
Most were copies of authentic player jerseys that are generally more expensive than fan-edition versions because they’re better designed and made of higher-quality materials, he said.
All were destined for overseas markets, with nearly 80 percent set to be shipped to the Americas, where the World Cup is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Mexico and South Africa play the tournament opener on Thursday.
