China, which failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, is drawing attention as a "winner" off the pitch. The country is effectively leading the production and distribution of World Cup-related merchandise, enjoying a special boom, while its referees have made their presence felt on the tournament stage, filling the void left by the absence of its national team.
According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun on Sunday, the wholesale market in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, has been bustling with orders pouring in from around the world since the World Cup kicked off. Yiwu is the world's largest small commodity wholesale market, producing and distributing sporting goods, clothing and miscellaneous items, with more than 75,000 stores clustered together and a market the size of about 900 soccer fields.
Local merchants said they were feeling the World Cup boom firsthand. One merchant who runs a store specializing in uniforms said, "Sales have increased to dozens of times the usual level," adding, "Orders are coming in from overseas buyers in more than 10 countries."
Orders have reportedly increased not only for title contenders such as Brazil and Portugal but also for the Japanese national team's uniforms. Another store sells about 9,000 types of official products related to national teams, including Lionel Messi dolls, drawing visitors from home and abroad. Various World Cup goods were also on display, including teddy bears dressed in uniforms and three-dimensional puzzles featuring players' faces.
The industry estimates that more than half of related products worldwide were produced in Yiwu during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Chinese media analyzed that the total order volume for this North American World Cup has also increased by 20 to 30 percent compared with that time. Some products are reportedly made through OEM (original equipment manufacturing) arrangements linked to FIFA and others, and supplied to the official goods market.
China Calls It "Most Meaningful World Cup in 20 Years"
Although China was eliminated in the qualifiers for the 2026 North American World Cup, failing to reach the finals for the sixth consecutive time, there is a mood of evaluating the performance of its referees as another achievement. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, in an article titled "Chinese Referees Take the World Cup Stage" on the 21st, gave it significance as "the most meaningful World Cup participation in 20 years."
For the group stage match between Ecuador and Curacao held at Kansas City Stadium in the United States, referee Ma Ning, assistant referee Zhou Fei and video assistant referee (VAR) Fu Ming were assigned together. Xinhua said, "Having three Chinese referees assigned together to one match is an example showing the progress Chinese referees have made in recent years."
It is the first time a Chinese referee has officiated a World Cup finals match since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, when China's national team made its first and only appearance in the finals. Fu Ming set the record as the first Chinese VAR referee at a World Cup, and Zhou Fei as the first Chinese assistant referee in a World Cup finals.
Xinhua described them as "evidence that Chinese soccer has entered deep into FIFA's elite referee system," highlighting the referees' performance as a new achievement for Chinese soccer even amid the national team's slump.
