Beijing: The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on Thursday with three co-hosts: Mexico, Canada, and the United States, has become a major driver of a rapid surge in consumer spending in China.
According to Thai News Agency, the FIFA World Cup has expanded to 48 teams and lasts for nearly 40 days, resulting in long queues of football fans at licensed merchandise stores and sporting goods shops in Beijing. This is especially true for jerseys of popular teams like Argentina, Germany, and Spain, as well as various licensed collectibles. Data from leading e-commerce platforms indicates that sales of World Cup-related toys and collectibles in China have already surged by more than 150 percent.
A notable aspect of this tournament is that popular flagship products, including the official Adidas Trionda football, are largely manufactured in factories in Guangdong province in southern China. These footballs incorporate high-frequency sensor chips to provide accurate and rapid data to referees, reflecting the success of China's intelligent manufacturing innovation on the world stage.
Meanwhile, the time difference between early morning and late-night broadcasts in China has driven new consumer behaviors. Restaurants and cafes have adapted by offering special menu promotions to cater to all generations of football fans, from selling morning coffee sets that include commemorative magnets of favorite teams to opening late-night bars offering barbecue and beer for late-night soccer enthusiasts. This coincides perfectly with the peak summer tourist season and the local football craze in the country.
This short-term growth in consumption coincides with the summer tourist season and the popularity of local Chinese football leagues such as the "City Super League" and "Village Super League," thus benefiting the hotel and tourism industry as well.
Han Yuanjun, a researcher from the China Tourism Academy, analyzed that this World Cup is no longer just a sporting event, but has evolved into a large-scale economic ecosystem integrating sports, tourism, culture, and social experiences, generating hundreds of billions of yuan (trillions of Thai baht) in the Chinese market.