Egyptian Athletes Given Counterfeit Gear For Olympics
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Egypt’s Olympic Committee (EOC) Chairman, Gen. Mahmoud Ahmed Ali, has admitted to purchasing counterfeit Nike apparel for their representatives at the upcoming London games, claimed a report by the Associated Press on Thursday, following complaints by their athletes that the officially-issued tracksuits and bags had bore the Nike logo on the front but the Adidas logo on the zippers.
Egypt’s Olympic Committee (EOC) Chairman, Gen. Mahmoud Ahmed Ali, has admitted to purchasing counterfeit Nike apparel for their representatives at the upcoming London games, claimed a report by the Associated Press on Thursday, following complaints by their athletes that the officially-issued tracksuits and bags had bore the Nike logo on the front but the Adidas logo on the zippers.
According to Gen. Ali, the EOC had considered several apparel vendors prior to the games, but eventually decided on a Chinese distributor, who had claimed to be an official Nike agent, as he had offered a significantly lower price.
Gen. Ali also said that “Egypt’s economic situation” meant that the committee was obliged to go with the cheapest option, though he later added that the counterfeit gear was “sufficient” for the cost.
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“We signed with a Chinese distributor in light of Egypt’s economic situation,” said Gen. Ali in an interview with AP on Wednesday.
[quote]“All Nike products in the Egyptian Market are made in China. They all have the same logo. How can you know?” he later added to Egyptian news site Ahram Online.[/quote]On Wednesday, Yomna Khallaf, a synchronized swimmer on the Egyptian team, had complained over Twitter that the workout bags she had received all had a “big Nike logo in the front and the zippers are Adidas.”
Khallaf later said that she had confronted the EOC over the counterfeit goods, though they subsequently responded with a “take it or leave it” attitude, forcing her to pay around $330 of her own money for suitable gear.
[quote]”It’s so frustrating that we had to pay an extra 2,000 [Egyptian] pounds to have other proper stuff to wear so that we can look OK, not even good,” Khallaf added online.[/quote]Related: Indonesian Workers Forced To Work 65 Hours A Week On Adidas Gear For Olympics
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In a statement to the press, sports apparel giant Nike also expressed shock over the allegations, but confirmed that the case was likely to be an isolated incident.
“Nike is highly concerned that if these allegations are true, the athletes will have received products that do not meet Nike’s quality standards. Nike’s authorized distributor in Egypt has sent two official communications to the EOC on this issue and no response has been received.”
“We believe this issue with the EOC is an isolated incident. Nike consistently acts to protect its brand and actively engages with law enforcement agencies and Customs authorities to stop counterfeit product reaching consumers and athletes,” the statement wrote.
On his part, Gen. Ali urged the US-based company to trace the distributor who sold them the counterfeit clothing and to “sue him.”
[quote]“It’s like if somebody created false coins and you happened to possess them. Is it your fault then?” Ali said in his defence.[/quote]
