Official Algerian World Cup soccer shirt

[Al-khiyal]

1,000 fake Algeria shirts bound for Scotland seized

June 9, 2010 -- One thousand fake Algeria football shirts bound for Scotland have been intercepted at a UK airport, it has been revealed. The UK Border Agency confirmed the counterfeit garments were recovered at East Midlands airport. The kit was destined for a Glasgow address having been sent from the Far East. England are due to play Algeria in the World Cup on Saturday. The seizures came as part of a week of a counterfeit crackdown led by the agency alongside anti-counterfeit experts from Adidas, Nike, Puma and Umbro in the lead up to the World Cup in South Africa which begins on Friday. The action has already seen 3,200 fake shirts for countries such as England, France and Germanyseized at Coventry airport. In 2009 more than 50,000 counterfeit replica shirts, worth approximately £1.2million, were seized by the UK Border Agency, police and trading standards.

[Al-khiyal]

Algerian expats in U.S. catch World Cup fever

June 10, 2010 -- Algerian fans gripped by World Cup fever are causing retailers worldwide to sell out of football jerseys. In the New York City neighbourhood of Astoria, the large Algerian community is keeping the owner of Soccer Fanatic busy, the New York Daily News reported. The store ran out of jerseys within three days, manager Jorge Vargas Jr. said Tuesday (June 8th). "We're already on our third order." But Algerian customers only buy the white home jerseys, he noted. "They have this superstition that they lose crucial games while wearing the green jerseys."