Xinhua Headlines: Beyond the pitch, Chinese businesses score with World Cup opportunities

* The World Cup boom comes as China seeks to spur consumption.

* Businesses from breakfast shops to cinemas and factories are capitalizing on football fever.

* The tournament is creating fresh opportunities.

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- At 4 a.m., Yang Fan opens his breakfast shop in central China's Wuhan city. The first thing he does is to pull out an 85-inch television to broadcast World Cup matches.

Rain cannot keep customers away. Some stand under umbrellas, while others crowd shoulder-to-shoulder around the screen. The narrow street outside the small noodle shop turns into an impromptu World Cup viewing spot.

"I'm a football fan and once played in grassroots tournaments," said 39-year-old Yang. "Many of this year's World Cup matches fall in the morning due to time differences. That inspired me to combine football viewing with Wuhan's breakfast culture."

His idea has paid off. Since the tournament kicked off, Yang's shop has sold an extra 100 to 200 bowls of Wuhan's signature hot dry noodles every day.

For years, major international football tournaments have followed a familiar rhythm in China: late-night matches paired with beer, barbecue and snacks.

This summer, the schedule has rewritten this long-standing ritual. Hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the 2026 World Cup features most of its matches during the early hours, dawn and morning hours in China. The shift has turned local breakfast shops into popular viewing venues. Cinemas, cafes and many other businesses are also capitalizing on football fever to boost consumer spending.

FROM BREAKFAST TO BIG SCREENS

Chinese catering businesses have been the quickest to adapt to the new match schedule.

Data from lifestyle platform Meituan shows that searches for morning tea restaurants in Guangdong Province surged 8.5 times between June 11 and July 1 compared with the same period last year.

In Foshan, a Guangdong city famous for Cantonese cuisine, a local hotel has launched football-themed set menus named "Brace" and "Hat Trick," alongside football-shaped egg tarts. Sales have jumped around 30 percent compared with the same period last year, according to manager Wu Fenhong.

Coffee chains, busiest in the morning, have also joined the World Cup consumption boom.

Luckin Coffee, the official sponsor of Portugal's and Spain's national football teams in China, has rolled out World Cup-themed drinks and collectibles including refrigerator magnets, keychains and figurines. Cotti Coffee, a global sponsor of Argentina's national team, has launched officially licensed World Cup souvenirs, such as commemorative match tickets and jersey-themed magnets.

The football fever has also brought new audiences to cinemas, which are facing sluggish box office performance.

With large screens, surround sound and reclining seats, cinemas offer an immersive viewing experience unavailable at home. Morning and late-night matches have also filled traditionally off-peak cinema slots. China Film Group Corporation and Huaxia Film Distribution have organized over 28,000 World Cup screenings across 255 cities nationwide.

A cinema in Beijing's Daxing District has rolled out exclusive perks for World Cup ticket holders, including a voucher for any regular movie screening, free popcorn and a soft drink.

Nearly all seats were filled for a Sunday morning screening of the match between Argentina and Switzerland. Spectators, many wearing team jerseys, cheered enthusiastically throughout the game.

"The screen is huge and the sound is fantastic," said Chen, a football fan from Beijing. "After the match, it's lunchtime. We can eat at the mall and shop in the afternoon."

Chen noted that audience enthusiasm remains high despite the unfavorable time difference. World Cup-themed decorations, promotions and events have popped up in shopping malls and restaurants across Beijing.

The World Cup boom comes as China ramps up efforts to expand domestic consumption. A recently approved government plan for expanding consumption during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) aims to raise the household consumption-to-GDP ratio significantly and sustain steady growth in overall consumption of goods and services.

Sports are expected to play a bigger role in the effort. In September 2025, the State Council issued guidelines to further stimulate sports consumption, targeting an industry value exceeding 7 trillion yuan (about 1 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2030, nearly double its 2023 size. The outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan also highlights the development of the sports event economy.

FACTORIES JOIN THE GAME

The World Cup-driven boom extends far beyond consumer services. Factories and wholesale markets in east China are busy producing jerseys, toys, cups and souvenirs for overseas buyers.

At the Yiwu International Trade Market, a global hub for small commodities, veteran exporter Wen Congjian sorts stacks of fan jerseys, with two to four exclusive designs for each 2026 World Cup team.

Wen started preparing for the tournament well in advance. Leveraging his solid market reputation and patent reserves from previous tournaments, he secured official fanwear orders for top teams including Brazil and Argentina, with licensed product orders alone exceeding 10,000 pieces.

"In the past, sellers simply printed national flags on generic jerseys. The business model has completely changed now," Wen said. For this World Cup, he has filed over 40 overseas design patents for fan jerseys.

"Applying for patents is complicated and time-consuming," Wen noted. But he knows patents offer more than protection; they also provide bargaining power. Patented products can sell for about 20 percent more.

The tournament's expansion from 32 to 48 teams has brought new dividends for Yiwu.

"Orders from countries and regions with newly qualified teams are usually small in volume, but repeat orders keep pouring in," said Wu Xiaoming, head of the Yiwu Sports and Fitness Products Industry Association.

The association estimates that Yiwu-made goods account for nearly 70 percent of the World Cup-related merchandise market. In the first quarter of this year, Yiwu exported 2.83 billion yuan worth of sporting goods and equipment, up 12 percent from a year earlier.

Yiwu's case reflects a broader transformation in China's sports economy, where manufacturers embrace high-quality development through innovation, branding and intellectual property.

During China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the sports industry's total scale and added value grew at average annual rates of 8.8 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.

The World Cup is no longer just a tournament on the pitch. It has become a catalyst connecting sports, consumption and industries, said Zhang Desheng, a professor at Wuhan Sports University.

"Beyond traditional football fans, it attracts broader groups through food, fashion and social experiences, creating new opportunities for economic growth," Zhang added.  ■

(Reporting by Cheng Lu, Bai Xu, Yao Yuan, Le Wenwan, Yu Xi, Zheng Keyi, Xia Liang, Xu Yushen and Liu Bo; Video reporters: Hu Xinyi and Wang Yiwen; Video editors: Zhang Yichi, Roger Lott and Liu Xiaorui.)