As the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets under way, manufacturers in the Chinese trading hub of Yiwu are working flat out to keep pace with a surge in demand for tournament merchandise. The latest customs figures point to a sharp rise in sports goods exports, underscoring how central the city has become to supplying fans around the world.
The scale of the rush is reflected in the order books. One manufacturer described a customer who was so satisfied with the products that they placed an order for 60,000 units, the first World Cup-related order of June. Local producers say the orders started arriving as early as a year ago, prompting them to begin work well ahead of the tournament rather than waiting for the final scramble.
That head start has shaped the production calendar. By March of this year, most of the export orders had essentially been completed, leaving only a handful of restock orders for the most popular items. Producers are now rushing the remaining foreign trade orders and trying to finish them ahead of schedule, so they can throw everything at fresh World Cup orders as they come in.
The output capacity behind that effort is considerable. One producer said the factory can turn out around 30,000 caps a day and roughly 10,000 scarves daily, and estimated that it alone could supply about 15 percent of the entire World Cup merchandise market in 2026. Such figures help explain why Yiwu has built a reputation as a powerhouse for global sporting events.
Demand has not been limited to the usual items. Traditional fan gear such as jerseys, trophies and flags has seen orders go through the roof, but more niche products have also taken off. Items like patch jerseys and creative toys have emerged as unexpected hits, reflecting a broader shift toward personalised and novelty merchandise among football supporters.
The boom is showing up clearly in the trade data. Customs figures show that in the first quarter of 2026, exports of sports goods and equipment from the city reached 2.83 billion yuan, a 12 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. The numbers reinforce Yiwu's role as a key link in the global supply chain feeding the world's biggest football tournament.