Brothel and undertaker back Greek football clubs

A GREEK football team has been given a bailout by signing up for sponsorship from a brothel.

A1 amateur league side Voukefalas ran into financial problems as Greece suffered its worst slump since the Second World War, with government cuts starving sport of funds.

Chairman Yiannis Batziolas, who has run the club since 2010 in Larissa, central Greece, was asked why he had approached a local madam for help. He said: “We had a very serious financial problem so I thought, why not?”

Their new sponsor, Soula Alevridou, a stocky 67-year-old madam who owns three luxury brothels, agreed to cover all costs on condition the players sport pink shorts and T-shirts emblazoned with her brothels’ logos, including “Villa Erotica”.

“The players couldn’t believe it at first but now they’re happy about it,” Mr Batziolas said, estimating the club needed €10,000 (£8,000) a year to survive.

Further north in the city of Trikala, the Palaiopyrgos youth team has signed a deal with a funeral home. “It was a matter of survival,” manager Lefteris Vassiliou said. They now play in black strips with a large white cross. Mr Vassiliou said superstitious opponents were too busy crossing themselves to cross the ball to score against them.