Egypt Olympic team get ‘fake’ Nike kit
Swimmer says her bags had a big Nike logo in the front but zippers with Adidas branding.
Members of the Egyptian Olympic team have been given fake Nike gear, according to a synchronised swimmer.
Yomna Khallaf alleged her bags had a big Nike logo in the front but the zippers had Adidas branding on them.
Khallaf tweeted that she had to spend more than $300 of her own money to buy satisfactory gear.
The Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC) secretary-general, Motaz Sonbol, said they were shocked to find that the gear was not “directly from Nike”.
But the committee’s chairman, General Mahmoud Ahmed Ali, defended the decision because of his country’s tight finances, according to the AP news agency.
“We signed with a Chinese distributor in light of Egypt’s economic situation,” Ali said.
Nike said it was “concerned” athletes may have received products that do not meet the company’s quality standards.
A Nike spokesman said the company was recently made aware that the EOC chose a sports gear vendor who allegedly supplied counterfeit footwear and apparel bearing the Nike trademarks.
Nike said it was now in discussions with the EOC to see if a solution could be reached.
Egypt is being represented by 112 participants at the London 2012 Olympics.