Soccer balls produced in Jining She autonomous county in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Wu Weiping/Tide News]

During the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026, the factory of Jingning Dingxuan Sports Goods, a company in Lishui, Zhejiang province, has been operating at near-full capacity daily, contributing to the global sporting event in its own way.

Workers are rushing to fulfill an urgent supplementary order from an overseas distributor for soccer balls printed with logos of popular teams that are expected to advance. The factory currently turns out over 2,000 finished soccer balls per day, which are exported worldwide through Yiwu's foreign trade channels.

According to Huang Ling, the company's production supervisor, the company's export orders this year have doubled compared with non‑World Cup years.

Sewing requires precise, straight stitches and accurate cornering. Gao Xiaoqin, an employee, said that even slight deviations would affect the ball's appearance and roundness. With the current heavy order volume, she is sewing over 200 soccer balls per day.

The business opportunities presented by the World Cup are a major quadrennial highlight. Zhou Shijie, head of the company, said that the outcomes at each stage of the tournament directly influence subsequent orders. The further a team advances, the greater the demand for supporting merchandise from that country.

During the knockout phase, urgent supplementary orders are common, and soccer ball prices rise by 2 to 3 yuan ($0.29 to $0.44) per unit compared with regular procurement prices.