JCO WorldCup26: Over €132 million worth of counterfeit goods seized in OLAF-coordinated operation linked to the World Cup 2026
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) coordinated a Joint Customs Operation (JCO) against counterfeit goods linked to the World Cup 2026, targeting fake merchandise related to the tournament. During the operation, more than 2.1 million counterfeit items were seized, with an estimated value of approximately €132 million.
This large-scale international operation brought together customs authorities from 23 EU Member States and customs authorities from Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal and Türkiye, the Colombian Tax and Customs Police (POLFA), as well as the US Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Centre and AMERIPOL, which coordinated actions in the United States and in Latin America respectively. The JCO enabled the exchange of information on suspicious shipments in real time, allowing the participating authorities to place them under surveillance simultaneously in different parts of the world.
The seized goods include sportswear, sports shoes and other clothing and accessories such as sports caps and socks, as well as toys and World Cup merchandise and souvenirs such as keyrings, flags and trophies. During the operation, the national customs authorities in Spain also dismantled a factory near Madrid producing counterfeit garments on demand with an annual production capacity of 800.000 items. The participating authorities detected as well infringing food and drink products, including potato crisps and bottles of whisky.
OLAF also cooperated with major online marketplaces resulting on the closure of 3,300 online stores and over 419.000 removed listings with an estimated value of around €4.2 million. By acting before sales peaked, the operation prevented tens of millions of potential sales of illicit items.
Petr Klement, Director-General of OLAF, said: “ Counterfeit goods linked to major sporting events harm legitimate businesses and public revenues. No single authority can tackle this alone. By bringing customs authorities, partners and industry together, OLAF turned national efforts into one coordinated, global response .”
The results reflect the close cooperation between OLAF and customs and law enforcement authorities worldwide. The operation also strengthened the cooperation networks that OLAF maintains with customs authorities and international partners, which will support future operations against illicit trade. Cooperation with online marketplaces was also essential: their active participation made it possible to identify and remove counterfeit products and sellers.
OLAF’s mission is to detect, investigate and stop wrongdoings related to EU funds.
In its independent investigative function, OLAF can investigate matters relating to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU financial interests concerning:
Once OLAF has completed its investigation, it is for the competent EU and national authorities to examine and decide on the follow-up of OLAF’s recommendations. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a competent national or EU court of law.
Pierluigi CATERINO Spokesperson European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) Phone: +32(0)2 29-52335 Email: olaf-media ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (olaf-media[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu LinkedIn: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) X: x.com/EUAntiFraud Bluesky: euantifraud.bsky.social