“Made in Yiwu” “Preparing for” the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico
“This is the fan cheering uniform we designed specifically for the Mexico World Cup next year.” Wen Congjian, a business owner in the third district of Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang Province, pointed to the latest Brazil cheering uniform and introduced it. The jersey is mainly yellow, green and blue, cleverly integrating various Brazilian cultural elements, highlighting the distinctive regional characteristics.
As a world-renowned “world supermarket”, Yiwu is actively “preparing” for the 2026 Mexico World Cup. Although the event has not yet officially opened, Yiwu merchants have fully utilized their supply chain advantages to provide a rich and diverse range of peripheral products for this globally watched sports feast.
The third district of Yiwu International Trade City displays a wide range of World Cup-related products, and orders are pouring in from all over the world. Wen Congjian introduced: “For the host team, the United States, the Mexican team and some traditional strong teams, we have designed a variety of jerseys, striving to provide customers with a wider range of choices.” Although the participating teams have not yet been finalized, merchants have made arrangements in advance and launched a variety of new products to meet market demand.
During major international events, Yiwu has always maintained agile response and has become an important pillar of the global event peripheral product supply. The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and it will be the first time that 48 teams will participate in the World Cup finals. Since the second half of last year, many Yiwu business owners have started product research and development. In view of the significant differences in consumer preferences for sports goods in various countries, merchants have correspondingly increased their stocking of hot-selling products.
Yiwu merchants generally regard major international events such as the World Cup as valuable opportunities to expand the market. Each event not only brings a large number of new customers, but also accumulates many loyal repeat customers through continuous service. More importantly, repeated market practice has tempered their keen market insight, enabling Yiwu to always maintain a quick response in major global events and firmly occupy the main position of the event peripheral product supply.
According to statistics from the Yiwu Sporting Goods Association, from the flags, cheering horns, and whistles of the 32 teams in the Qatar World Cup, to footballs, jerseys, scarves, and Hercules Cup-shaped ornaments and pillows, “Yiwu-made” products account for almost 70% of the global World Cup peripheral product market.
As the first round of ticket purchases for the 2026 Mexico City World Cup is about to start, the Yiwu market has attracted an increasing number of international buyers. Salahuddin, a buyer from Tunisia, has been engaged in sports goods franchising for nearly five years and has come to Yiwu every year to look for new products. He said frankly: “We always trust the Chinese market. This order of 10,000 footballs is an excellent start to the year.”
According to Yiwu Customs data, the export value of Yiwu’s sports goods and equipment in the first half of 2025 reached 5.86 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.8%. Wu Xiaoming, president of the Yiwu Sporting Goods Association, pointed out that although the current international situation is complex and changeable, and the tariff war has caused some orders to be transferred to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, it is expected that orders for products related to the Mexico City World Cup will increase significantly in the second half of the year. “As a major global sports goods producer, China’s position is crucial, and the world cannot do without China’s supply.”
Xinhua News Agency