The World Cup made in China

Chinese soccer fans have to simply accept that the chances of the national men's team playing in the World Cup finals again (after 2002) is at best slim. Perhaps a joke doing the rounds best illustrates this fact: A fairy promises Chinese people to make their one wish come true. Some people ask her to make the world a peaceful place, free of wars. The fairy seems embarrassed and doesn't respond. Then some soccer fans request her to send "our men's soccer team to the World Cup finals". The fairy says: "Well, let's talk about world peace!"

But the Chinese team's absence from the World Cup in Brazil (and possibly the next few Cups) has not stopped Chinese enterprises from using the soccer craze to make "big" money.

A number of domestic enterprises have dipped their fingers in World Cup-related business. For example, Yingli Green Energy Holding, a leading renewable energy company and official secondary World Cup sponsor, is installing solar panels in some stadiums. Like other big brands, such as McDonald's and Visa, Yingli's name can be seen in the hoardings around the pitch in the World Cup stadiums.