When Pizza Wolke, a small restaurant in Giessen Germany, launched their ‘Champignons League’ Pizza they probably thought that football fans would find it amusing.
Well, UEFA certainly didn’t get the joke. Lawyers representing the European governing body sent Pizza Wolke a strongly worded letter informing them that they would be sued for copyright infringement.
According to UEFA, the Champignons league - Mushroom League in English - was too similar to their Champions League brand.
In response, the owners of Pizza Wolke posted a redacted version of the letter online and thanked UEFA for the free advertising.
Social media was quick to support the Pizza place. One user accused UEFA of being ‘out of touch with reality,’ while another suggested that they rename the Pizza the ‘European Supper League.’
Let’s face it, if anyone is going to start a lawsuit about Pizza it should be a class-action lawsuit from every Italian in existence against any restaurant that sells Pineapple on Pizza.
To be fair to UEFA, they were probably concerned that the ‘Champignons League’ would become a commercial success. Pizza Wolke may be a small restaurant, but they have recently expanded into frozen Pizza, selling 300,000 pizzas in German supermarkets since December 2020.
With public backlash building, UEFA removed the lawsuit and released one of the greatest statements of all time:
‘UEFA obviously takes the protection of its intellectual property seriously but this instance seems to be a case of an over-zealous local trademark agent acting too hastily…The UEFA Champions League can happily live alongside this delicious-sounding pizza.'
🤪 Weird Deal of the Week
Prada Dresses Chinese Athletes for Tik-Tok Campaign
Western brands will go to some weird lengths to get their products in front of Chinese consumers.
In 2020, KFC launched an insect repellent flavoured drink in collaboration with Chinese firm Liushen. That same year, Adidas released a sneaker inspired by a famous Chinese grape drink.
While these collaborations may seem horrifying and confusing, they are born from the simple fact that collaborating with local brands is the most effective to build a customer base in China. The weirder the collaboration the greater the attention it receives across Chinese social media.
In this light, the news that four Chinese athletes will appear in a Tik Tok Douyin campaign for Prada seems almost boring.
Gong Lijiao (shot-put gold medallist), Li Zhixuan (marathon), Xiong Dunhan (Water polo), and Yang Shuyu (basketball bronze medallist) have all been styled and photographed in clothing from the Italian fashion house.
This is a very smart move by Prada. China is trying to build itself up as a nation of sporting excellence and the population has a growing sense of pride in their athletes.
Consumers have responded well to the initial images. Aside from a general sense of pride in seeing their heroes, people have praised Prada for featuring athletic bodies which do not fit the traditional modeling look.
✍️ Deal of the Week
Mercedes and Mclaren to form ‘Super Team’
Lewis Hamilton is about to quit Formula 1 and join Formula E!
Why we hear you ask?
Well, the first team that Hamilton drove for in F1 was a partnership between Mercedes and Mclaren. Fast forward to today and that partnership is set to be re-established in Formula E.
Clearly, the stars are aligned for Hamilton to jump over to Formula E and make the series really boring by winning almost every race.
All joking aside, the potential partnership between Mercedes and Mclaren is big news for Formula E. This collaboration of two huge manufacturers would create the sports first ‘Super Team’ and signal to motorsport that electrification is a serious option for the future.
While the current Mercedes team, which won 2020/21 Formula E constuctors championship, have technically quit the sport, the Mercedes brand is far from finished in Formula E.
“It’s very much positive that we will be playing our part in Gen3 [the next generation of Formula E cars],” explained Mercedes team principal Ian James to the Race.
Mclaren has been providing Formula E teams with batteries since 2018 and recently launched their own team in the all-electric Extreme E championship.
The exact nature of this collaboration is still unclear, but McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said that any Formula E decisions would likely be made by the end of February.
🗞 Story of the Week
Sale of Denver Broncos Expected to be Biggest Deal in U.S. Sport
America is truly awful at naming sports teams!
In Montgomery Alabama, a local baseball team is actually called the Montgomery Biscuits. That means there are players proudly wearing shirts with BISCUITS emblazoned on the front and a stadium full of people who passionately shout ‘GO BISCUITS!’
It appears that U.S. sports franchises are named after animals or things that represent the people of the area. The residents of New England must feel incredibly patriotic and the people of Miami clearly identify with the notoriously horny Dolphin.
So, why on earth would the people of Denver want to be associated with the Bronco? A horse that is so wild and crazy that it has become famous for trying to kill people by throwing them into the air.
In reality, the NFL’s Denver Broncos have become a symbol of stability. Under the 38 year ownership of the Bowen family, the team has had 21 winning seasons. This includes 13 AFC West titles and three Super Bowl triumphs.
However, recent disagreement between the sibling owners has resulted in the team being put up for sale.
This is likely to result in a huge payday. The sale is expected to reach at least $4 billion, almost double the current NFL franchise record of $2.275 billion set by the sale of the Carolina Panthers.
“Selling an NFL team is a complex process involving numerous parties and league approval procedures,” explains Broncos President/CEO Joe Ellis. “Nonetheless, the trustees hope to have the sale completed by the start of the 2022 NFL season.”
Even if a candidate is found relatively quickly, this prospective owner will first have to meet with the NFL’s Finance Committee. If they approve the candidacy, it moves on to the ownership group and 24 teams of the NFL must vote “yes” for approval.
Another delaying factor will be that the Family are intending to choose the new owner carefully.
“The Broncos are a special franchise that is part of the fabric of this region and whoever emerges as the new owner will certainly understand what the team means to our great fans and the community,” explained Ellis in a statement.