Pedestrians walk past a giant football nearly three meters in height on the Central Street in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on June 11, 2026. Photo: VCG

By 2 am, Sanlitun, one of Beijing's busiest nightlife districts, had largely quieted down. But inside Cafe Groove, owner Sui Jinpeng and his staff were still moving through the restaurant, testing upgraded audio equipment and large screens ahead of the World Cup's opening match early Friday morning.

Sui said he expects this year's tournament to draw fans out of their homes and back into bars, cafés and restaurants, where the experience of watching football becomes something collective. "People can drink, talk and cheer together," he told the Global Times. "This kind of atmosphere is actually quite rare."

The first match, between Mexico and South Africa, is scheduled to kick off at 3 am Friday Beijing time at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. Although China's men's national team has been absent from the World Cup since 2002, the tournament remains a major event for Chinese fans, whose enthusiasm has endured despite late-night broadcasts and their team's long absence from the field.

This year's World Cup had a shorter commercial warm-up in China, with CCTV finalizing broadcast rights only about a month before the opening match. Analysts said the late deal left advertisers and merchandisers with less time to build momentum, helping explain the relatively subdued atmosphere so far.

Time zones are also working against the party. As the tournament is being held in the US, Canada and Mexico, many matches will air in China in the early morning or late morning, with some kicking off between midnight and 4 am — hardly prime time for bars and barbecue joints built around dinner crowds.

But restaurants are not sitting out the tournament. The Global Times found during recent visits that many venues have adjusted their opening hours and stocked up on food and drinks, betting that even a 3 am kick-off can still draw a crowd when the World Cup is on.

Romy Gai, FIFA's Chief Business Officer, told the Global Times on Thursday via email that China has one of the largest viewership bases in the world and the Chinese audience is central to the global success of the FIFA World Cup.

Aside from various support by Chinese sponsors to the tournament's multiple aspects including AI and video review, Gai said China remains deeply connected to the FIFA World Cup and plays an important role in delivering the tournament to a truly global audience.

"Brands such as Lenovo, Mengniu and Hisense bring innovation, scale and local relevance, helping us enhance fan experiences — from cutting-edge technology in areas like AI and video review to initiatives that make our tournaments more inclusive and accessible through sensory rooms in the stadiums," Gai added.


Preparation outside the pitch

Sui, from Northeast China, has often organized offline viewing events since his restaurant opened last October. He expects overall revenue during the World Cup to increase by roughly 60 percent. He predicted that for high-profile matches involving teams such as Argentina, Brazil, and England, peak periods could even reach two to three times the normal level. 

Zhang, a 50-year-old waitress at a restaurant on Beijing's Guijie dining street, told the Global Times that to prepare for this year's games, her workplace has doubled its inventory of crawfish and beer.

In Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, the Laowaitan pedestrian street has launched a 39-day consumption campaign. The operator told the Global Times that a 4-meter-wide high-definition screen has been installed to broadcast matches throughout the tournament. In addition to beer and snacks, the street will also feature a food market with dishes from previous World Cup host countries.

In Shanghai's Laowaijie leisure street, a parking lot has been converted into a new viewing plaza capable of holding around 300 people. According to marketing director Qin Qijing, around 70 percent of customers are foreigners, and foot traffic is expected to rise by 30 to 50 percent during the tournament.

As of Wednesday noon, data shows that on Thursday - the opening day of the 2026 World Cup - hotel audiovisual room bookings on the Tongcheng Travel platform increased by 47 percent year-on-year, according to a statement sent to the Global Times on Thursday. 

During the first weekend of the event, from June 12 to 13, audiovisual rooms recorded their highest occupancy levels, with demand rising by more than 90 percent compared with the previous weekend, far outpacing other themed accommodation products on the platform over the same period.

The waitress surnamed Zhang said based on her experience from the previous two editions of World Cups, "it [World Cup] does bring customer traffic. When there are more people, there is naturally more consumption," she said, noting that if football games started earlier, there would be more customers this year.

Unlike a one-day surge in traffic for events like the UEFA Champions League finals, the World Cup is an operational test that lasts nearly 40 days, Sui said, adding that his restaurant's operating rhythm is relatively fixed: a busy period in the evening, another rush after midnight, and some breathing time during the day. "But during the World Cup, that pattern is likely to be disrupted." 

Sui noted that about 70 percent of matches will fall outside traditional business hours, leading his restaurant to extend operations to nearly 24-hour service. Sui said that even for matches involving less popular teams, his restaurant still welcomes customers.

Fans' passion and choices

Beyond commercial venues, football fans themselves remain central to the World Cup experience. In a sports brand store in Sanlitun, Yisimayili, a 20-year-old student from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region now studying in Beijing and a fan of the Portugal national team, said that interest in and discussion around this year's World Cup have not declined but have instead increased. "More people around me are talking about the upcoming matches," he said.

In the past, he used to watch matches in his dormitory or at nearby bars and restaurants with friends. "Watching and discussing games together with my friends is part of the enjoyment of the World Cup," he said.

Crystal Li has been a football fan for more than two decades. Although some matches will kick off in the early hours of the morning, that does little to dampen her enthusiasm. "I'll stay up to watch, then survive the next day on Americanos," she said with a laugh. She has even been arranging her work schedule in advance to make room for the tournament.

Liu, a football fan from East China's Zhejiang Province, said,"I think the last tournament was very exciting despite the pandemic. This year, with the expansion from 36 to 48 teams, some matches may be less thrilling, so my expectations are not as high," he said.

Even so, Liu believes that attention to this World Cup remains, and he has created a new social media account to post video clips from past tournaments, hoping to attract more like-minded fans.

China's 'World Cup economy'

China's engagement with the World Cup runs far deeper than fan enthusiasm alone — it extends into broadcasting rights, e-commerce, and a vast merchandise supply chain.

CCTV reported on May 15 that the China Media Group, its parent company, reached an agreement with FIFA to broadcast the 2026 World Cup in China, ending uncertainty and ensuring Chinese audiences can watch the tournament.

Aside from the state broadcaster, social media platform Xiaohongshu has also acquired the broadcasting rights of the 2026 World Cup. Liu Dingding, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times that its participation aims to expand beyond its predominantly female user base by leveraging the World Cup's massive male audience, underscoring a unique cooperation pattern.

The World Cup is also deeply integrated with the Chinese market through live broadcasting, e-commerce consumption, and merchandise supply chains, all closely tied to China's manufacturing and consumer ecosystem, said Liu.

World Cup-themed merchandise stores have begun popping up in shopping malls across Beijing. At Hopson One, a shop assistant said products linked to popular contenders such as Argentina, France and Portugal have been selling especially well. "Portugal fan and player jerseys sold out earlier, and we are restocking them now. France jerseys also just sold out and had to be urgently replenished," the assistant said.

Li Mufan, store manager of the World Cup IP store at Beijing's Chaoyang Joy City, said that compared with professional football products like jerseys, dolls and plush keychains are more popular with female consumers and family shoppers, demonstrating that World Cup IP is extending to non-traditional fan groups in China.

Zhejiang Beilei Textile Co obtained official licensing rights for World Cup merchandise last year. Yang Yating, a company representative, told the Global Times that this marked a major breakthrough. Best-selling products include Argentina's "goat" plush toy, England lion dolls, and Portugal-themed neck pillows. These products are packed in Yiwu and shipped via Ningbo Port to global markets, Yang said.

According to FIFA, total revenue over the four-year cycle for this World Cup is expected to reach $13 billion, representing an increase of more than 70 percent compared with the Qatar World Cup cycle, according to a report by the Securities Times. 

Experts said the 2026 World Cup will also spur related consumer spending in China, as the country's sports economy has been thriving in recent years with multiple grassroots football leagues springing up across the country.