© EuroFootball.com
Economic difficulties have pressed Greek footballers to turn to representatives of the oldest profession for financial support. The amateur Greek football club "Voukefalas" will now compete wearing pink jerseys, on which two regional brothels are advertised: "Villa Erotica" and "Soula's House of History".
After drastic government decisions affecting the financing of football and sports in general, not only this club, but also other football clubs started to search for "unconventional" sponsors, reports the news agency AP. One club signed a contract with funeral homes, another with kebab kiosks network, another with jam producers, and a fourth with feta cheese manufacturers.
"Unfortunately, almost everyone turned away from amateur football," says Yiannis Batziolas, manager and goalkeeper of Larissa's "Voukefalas". "So the financial assistance of such sponsors is a matter of survival."
According to him, the team - which consists of pizza makers, students, waiters, and bartenders - initially did not believe that they would be supported by local brothels. "Only after seeing the new jerseys, they understood that it was not a joke," says Y. Batziolas.
Prostitution is legal in Greece, and brothels operate under strict regulations. However, the support of brothels for the football club caused inconvenience: the organizers of the amateur league banned wearing pink jerseys during games, as they believed that the advertising contracts broke the "sports ideal" and were unacceptable for underage fans.
The brothel owners have already allocated 1,000 euros to the team, and the annual expenses of the team amount to about 10,000 euros.
