Fakes off the field: combating counterfeits in football

Fandom is a massive part of any globally-followed sports tournament, and this year’s Euros was no exception. As an expected 650,000 international football fans descended on Germany, there was an obvious rush to grab their respective nations’ kits and colors.

However, amidst the excitement, an interesting and worrying story started circulating – football fans could face fines of up to €5000 if caught wearing counterfeit jerseys, alluding to German laws designed to fight the spread of counterfeit goods. This story gained significant credibility, considering reports that Nike lost over £6.5M in sales due to the sale of counterfeit England shirts during the build-up to the tournament.

Were the police really going to stop fans and check their shirts? If so, how would they identify a fake?

The fact check, however – false. While wearing counterfeit goods is not monitored, selling such items is a different story. German authorities have not been monitoring what fans wear through the tournament, and they are wise in doing so (to avoid the ire of fans, especially those traveling from thousands of miles and consequently boosting the German economy throughout the tournament).

What would be an offense, however, is the sale of counterfeit goods throughout the duration of the tournament. Whether online or, as many vendors do, in makeshift stalls outside of the stadium gates.

It’s no secret that ahead of big tournaments, the prevalence of sellers touting counterfeits rises dramatically. So, how do you fight counterfeit football shirts in such an environment?

The reality is that fining fans who wear fake goods is neither realistic nor beneficial. Estimates suggest that while 1 in 4 fans are actively seeking out counterfeits, the majority – 75% – are interested in authentic items. The chances that you’ll find a fan who was duped are high, and fining them will not be a productive measure.

Taking down vendors outside of stadiums is easy, but it is much harder to prevent the sale of fake goods in the online space. This leaves authorities with a number of options to fight fakes.

The first is to try to prevent consumer access to counterfeits. By working with marketplaces, enforcement agencies, retailers, and anti-counterfeiting solution providers, authorities can make headway in this regard. Imagine a marketplace proactively flagging a fake before it is listed by the user or an independent seller showing definite third-party proof of the authenticity of whatever is being sold. Advances in technology are making this very possible.

If we can imagine that enterprises do prioritize limiting counterfeit goods, then a great compliment to this would be giving consumers the opportunity to do this from their side too.

For instance, what if consumers had a tool with which they could quickly and discreetly check an item for authenticity before purchase – both physically and online? Moreover, what if they could then report the seller directly to enforcement if they find someone intentionally selling a fake?

It’s not far off either. From quick authentication tools and mobile apps to companies adding NFC tags to football shirts for quick and easy scans of goods, these solutions are now beginning to truly enter the market.

The final piece of the puzzle would be education. Simply put, counterfeiters and scammers are getting away with it because some consumers simply don’t know what to look for. Obvious fakes might be selling for €10 on a street corner, but less obvious ones might be selling for €75 on an online storefront with thousands of ‘positive’ reviews.

Educating the consumers and enforcement authorities to catch these counterfeiters should be a top priority.

So, how far away are we from realizing this vision? Perhaps not far at all. As technology and advances in AI allow companies in this space to roll out their solutions, it’s not long before we’ll be seeing these tools and strategies being actively used in the sports merchandise space.

In the fight against counterfeit goods, leveraging technology proves to be a much more efficient strategy than imposing fines on fans. This approach not only protects the interests of fans who travel to support their nations but also ensures the integrity of the sport.

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