The Premier League and its clubs, along with industry leaders and law enforcement authorities, came together at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium this month for the 10th annual "Football Against Fakes" Conference.
The event provides attendees with the opportunity to hear from a variety of industry-leading experts about the ongoing challenges around brand protection as well as successful case studies and the sharing of best-practice between the various organisations at the conference.
Guests heard from a variety of speakers, including from the European Anti-Fraud Office, and from PUMA, who discussed its partnership with the Premier League and its approach to tackling counterfeit products.
Also represented at this year’s event were law enforcement authorities including the Metropolitan Police, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, Border Force, Newport Trading Standards.
The Premier League’s comprehensive Anti-Counterfeiting Programme targets both the online and offline production, distribution and sale of fake merchandise around the world.
Some £20m of counterfeit items seized
Last season, 230,000 counterfeit items were seized across the UK and internationally.
Additionally, the Premier League continued its online efforts to prevent counterfeit goods being marketed to fans, by removing over 150,000 online listings. The total value of these online and physical products was £20million.
These numbers do not include seizures or de-listings carried out by individual clubs and their kit manufacturers.
Along with its clubs, partners and law enforcement authorities, the Premier League remains steadfast in its commitment to reducing the sale and distribution of counterfeit products and continues to take action in this regard around the world.