Counterfeit merchandise has been popping up across many of the host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On June 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that, in Houston, it had seized over $6 million worth of branded athletic wear, soccer balls, toys, sunglass cases, counterfeit Apple products and perfume for intellectual property rights violations, including trademarks owned by FIFA.
“CBP takes very seriously our role in protecting American consumers from low quality and potentially dangerous counterfeit items,” said CBP Area Port Director Thomas Mahn. “With the extraordinary growth in e-commerce, consumers should always be mindful of where they are buying their products. Unfortunately, these criminal networks are very deceptive in scamming sports fans and harming American consumers and businesses.”
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Earlier in the month, CBP officers in Indianapolis conducted Operation Winner’s Circle, seizing 18 shipments of counterfeit FIFA World Cup 2026 jerseys, shirts, beanies and other merch.
In total, officers intercepted 1,578 items that, if genuine, would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $134,594, according to CBP.
- Similar operations across the country have resulted in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit items.
- Most shipments originated from China and were destined for locations both within and outside of the United States, according to CBP.
“Sports fans often pay big money for sports memorabilia,” said Indianapolis Port Director Brett Mueller. “Counterfeit sports memorabilia de-funds our sports organizations, funds criminal networks and scams the fans.”
Brett Mueller
CBP Indianapolis Port Director
- Over 90% of all counterfeit seizures occur in the international mail and express environments, which are channels for small, e-commerce packages destined for the U.S., according to the CBP.
- Many of these shipments contain counterfeit goods that pose the same health, safety and economic security risks as large, containerized shipments.
No Yellow Cards Here
Don’t let the crooks ruin the fun – there are plenty of FIFA merch collabs happening to celebrate the World Cup.
Aerie’s collection features cozy athleisure with a vintage flair that shows off your team spirit for multiple countries, including the U.S., Mexico, France, Argentina, Canada and more.
Levi’s has a collection of ringer tees featuring multiple countries and their team colors. Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters has a wide range of options from collabs with Umbro and Adidas to trendy Y2K-inspired pieces.
Outside of apparel, food and drink companies are getting in on the action.
Coca-Cola has released special-edition glass bottles with unique label designs for many of the countries in the tournament as well as one for the 2026 World Cup as a whole.
Taco Bell has teamed up with Spain to create limited-edition cleats where every stud is a mini taco. This clever design came to be because in Spanish “taco” means both the Mexican food and the studs on cleats. The cleats were part of a fan giveaway and included free tacos for a year. This collab also involved Spanish soccer legend Pablo Alfaro.
