Everyone heard a few months back about how Greece was at the center of the European fiscal crisis. What, with their always relaxing instead of working (maybe, but probably not and definitely not as much as Germans seem to think), and the national sport of tax evasion (this is a more accurate accusation), things haven't been looking too great in Greece the last few years. Well, with rough economic times, come difficult times for aspiring athletes who depend on local sponsors to pay for gear and playing time on the pitch (soccer field). Now that the local shopkeepers are paying their taxes (or at least I've heard that some of them are now that Germany threatened to send tax collectors to the Greeks to teach them how it's done) and folks aren't buying as many of their goods, lower level soccer teams are at risk of not playing because of a lack of sponsors.
In steps the one industry where the economic downturn has not had a negative impact: brothels. As the New York Times reports in this rather tongue in cheek video, a local madam has become the sponsor of a team in Larissa, Greece.
The new "Villa Erotica" team was really happy to receive the sponsorship, but the local community was less thrilled to hear that the brothel's name would be on the soccer jerseys. Even though prostitution is legal and regulated in Greece, there has been an outcry about the sponsorship (the madame has also tried to give money to local schools desperate for help, but they returned it).
The New York Times notes that Madam Soula "considers her support a natural thing to do, maybe even a patriotic gesture" You can read more about the real impact of the economic downturn on this local soccer club here.
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