Cape Verde’s strong start to the World Cup—including a scoreless draw with tournament co-favorite Spain, perhaps the most shocking result of the tournament so far—has sparked a licensing battle over who can sell uniforms from the Cinderella story. Fans looking to join in on the team’s viral success can purchase $95 uniforms from Capelli Sport, […]
Cape Verde’s strong start to the World Cup—including a scoreless draw with tournament co-favorite Spain, perhaps the most shocking result of the tournament so far—has sparked a licensing battle over who can sell uniforms from the Cinderella story.
Fans looking to join in on the team’s viral success can purchase $95 uniforms from Capelli Sport, the team’s official jersey provider. But in the days after Cape Verde drew against Spain, a different company began advertising Blue Sharks jerseys on social media. That company, Tempo, was the team’s jersey supplier prior to Capelli, and it is selling $39 uniforms in the design that the Blue Sharks wore in their African qualifying campaign.
Last week, Capelli sent Tempo a cease-and-desist letter, according to someone familiar with the plans. The letter demanded that Tempo stop infringing on Capelli’s exclusive rights, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the details are private.
“Capelli Sport made a long-term commitment to the Cabo Verde FA well before the team’s historic World Cup run, investing in the federation and supporting its ambitions on and off the field,” the company said in a statement. “As the official technical partner, we believe the commercial value generated by this success should help strengthen the Federation, support its players and contribute to the future growth of soccer in Cabo Verde.”
A representative for Capelli Sport declined to comment specifically on Tempo’s listings. Multiple emails sent to different Tempo accounts weren’t returned.
When a sports team or federation switches licensing partners, there’s typically a sell-through period that allows the prior partner to move unsold inventory amid the transition. Nike, for example, is still selling Penn State product as the Nittany Lions transition to Adidas. It’s unclear exactly when that time frame ends for Tempo, but the company’s website encourages fans to “pre order” Cape Verde uniforms. That implies that Tempo is still manufacturing them for purchase, typically not allowed within a sell-through period.
Prior jersey partners do occasionally hold some IP related to uniforms. Adidas is currently selling replicas of the denim blue uniforms that the U.S. men’s team wore during the 1994 World Cup on home soil, even though U.S. Soccer is now a Nike partner. Those replicas, however, have been stripped of the U.S. Soccer logos. The Tempo uniforms for sale have the official Cape Verde crest on the left shoulder.
A rep for the federation didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
Capelli signed its four-year deal with the Federação Cabo-verdiana de Futebol (FCF) earlier this year, after the men’s team had already qualified for its first World Cup. The company, which has its original roots in youth soccer, has expanded rapidly over the past decade to include the Olympics, World Cup and college sports.
On its website, Tempo calls itself an “Austrian trademark that has been registered worldwide,” and it lists an address in Vienna. The company lists the Cape Verde uniforms as a “2025” edition and also sells Guadeloupe uniforms dated “24/25.” (Guadeloupe is not a FIFA member.)
In its first two World Cup matches, No. 63 Cape Verde drew No. 3 Spain and No. 18 Uruguay, which it also fought to a draw. The team stands a good chance of qualifying for the group stages if it avoids a loss to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The Blue Sharks have become one of the viral stories of the World Cup, with goalie Vozinha having gained more than 15 million Instagram followers since the start of the tournament, making the relatively unknown journeyman one of the most followed athletes in the tournament.