The World Cup economy is booming, and Yiwu has seen a surge in orders yet again, but this time the rules of the game have changed.

The long-circulating joke, "If you want to know who the World Cup champion is, just go to Yiwu and see which country's flag is printed the most," was brought up again during this year's US-Canada-Mexico World Cup.

Although said in jest, it reveals a fact: this county-level city in Zhejiang produces nearly 70% of the world's World Cup merchandise. National flags, jerseys, scarves, and dolls depart from here, shipped by sea or via the China-Europe Railway Express to stands in North America and around the world. In other words, Yiwu's factory shipment volume itself is the most straightforward indicator of public enthusiasm.—Hence the "Yiwu Index".

Source: Internet

On June 12, 2026, the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup officially kicked off. It is the first time in World Cup history that three countries jointly host the tournament, with the number of participating teams expanded from 32 to 48, and the number of matches increased from 64 to 104. Behind this unprecedented event, "Made in Yiwu" had completed its "warm-up" months in advance.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Orders started last year

Long before the whistle blew, a wave of orders had already flooded into Yiwu.

According to data from Yiwu Customs,In the first quarter of 2026, Yiwu's export of sports goods and equipment reached 2.85 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12%.

If we extend the timeframe toThe full year of 2025, the figure was 11.65 billion yuan, up 20.3% year-on-year, breaking the ten-billion-yuan mark for the first time. And the data for the first two months of 2026 is even more striking—exports reached 2.34 billion yuan, a staggering 38.5% year-on-year increase. Among them, exports of sports goods to the three host countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—reached 550 million yuan, up 21.3% year-on-year.

Source: Yiwu·China Small Commodity Index

Many Yiwu manufacturers actually entered"World Cup mode." Some jersey export merchants began receiving large World Cup orders as early as October 2025, and some companies even started jersey design in early 2025. Wu Xiaoming, president of the Yiwu Sports and Fitness Products Industry Association, admitted that in the early years, the industry lacked patents, originality, and barriers, and "World Cup orders seem huge, but in fact profit margins are thin." But this year, the situation is changing.

Source: CCTV Evening News

Where does the confidence of the supply chain come from

The reason Yiwu can continuously capture global sports event opportunities lies in its industrial cluster and flexible production capacity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

This advantage was already demonstrated during the Paris Olympics.In January-February 2024, Yiwu's exports to France reached 540 million yuan, up 42% year-on-year. The French government spokesperson admitted at the time that French manufacturing could not possibly complete the production of 2 million mascot dolls within a few months. But for Yiwu factories, such large-volume, short-delivery emergency orders have long been routine.

"From fabric, accessories, printing, sample making to production, the entire chain is fully integrated." In the eyes of merchants who have been rooted in Yiwu for many years, this industrial cluster model is difficult to replicate elsewhere. The International Trade City has nearly 80,000 shops and 2.1 million types of goods. Coupled with a logistics network covering more than 230 countries and regions, as well as the China-Europe Railway Express and rail-sea intermodal transport, Yiwu can complete the entire process from design to shipment in an extremely short time.

Source: Internet

Looking back at previous World Cups, Yiwu primarily exported basic cheering equipment such as flags, horns, and headdresses, with relatively homogeneous categories and fierce competition, squeezing merchants' profit margins very thin. This year, however, cultural and creative products with fan culture attributes have become mainstream.— New categories like pet jerseys, star player figurines, and themed collectibles are widely favored. Young consumers no longer prefer the same old traditional styles; they value unique original designs.

A complete and mature industrial chain, along with efficient and flexible production capacity, enables Yiwu to always precisely capture global event business opportunities. Now, as more and more merchants actively deployIP licensing and original patents, upgrading from mere supply to value output, this 'world supermarket' is using manufacturing strength and brand thinking to show the world a new face of Made in China.