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Thousands of fake World Cup trophies confiscated in China

Thousands of fake World Cup trophies confiscated in China

While the real World Cup trophy continues its global tour before meeting its new owner in Brazil, Chinese authorities have confiscated thousands of fakes intended to be sold in different corners of the planet. The latest haul discovered by Chinese customs officers in Yiwu consisted of 1,020 golden counterfeit trophies that were on their way to be sold in Libya. Before that, 1,008 fake trophies were found about 490 miles of Yiwu in Xiamen.

The real World Cup trophy is made of 18 carat gold with two layers of green malachite in the base. A gold-plated replica is given to the winning nation to keep, since FIFA learned their lesson after the tournament's original prize — the Jules Rimet trophy — was stolen twice: once while on display in England in 1966 and then again in Brazil, who were allowed to keep it forever after winning it a third time, in 1983. It has never been recovered.

The busts in China are part of a larger crackdown on items infringing on football related copyrights ahead of the tournament. The Xiamen customs office has also seized 21,648 Brazil World Cup shirts that were reportedly difficult to distinguish from the Nike originals.

So any teams disappointed by not winning in Brazil should just make a quick stop in China on their way home.

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Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!