Given the fact that the Chinese soccer team did not qualify for the World Cup in Germany, Shenzhen businesses still made a substantial profit from the tournament.

Bill Doubleday, the owner of X-Ta-Sea sports bar in Shekou, said his bar¡¯s sales had increased at least 20 percent last month thanks to the World Cup.

¡°We bought a 100-inch projector especially for the World Cup and set it up outside the bar. Every evening about 35 to 40 people would stand outside and buy a drink or two when the inside is full.¡±

Doubleday said in addition to the matches between strong teams, when England, U.S.A. and Australia were playing, many of their supporters in Shekou would come to watch the games.

The Mexican soccer fans'club near Shenzhen Stadium has made a fortune on the back of the World Cup.

Zhao Wei, the owner of the club, said the volume of business every weekend was about twice that of normal weekends.

The club¡¯s lobby, which can hold 200 people, and its 24 private rooms, which have a total capacity of over 200 people, were always full during weekends in the past month. Its waiters and waitresses started working at 7:30 p.m. and had no time to rest till after 5 a.m. the next morning.

¡°The turnover on the World Cup final day was higher than 60,000 yuan (US$7,500), about five times of the usual time,¡± said an employee.

Beer and soccer are inseparable. Yang Wei, manager of Lowendurg, a German bar in Shekou, said beer sales were more than usual. The bar also brewed a light beer named ¡°World Cup¡± last month, all of which, about 300 liters, was sold.

Kingway Beer, the biggest local beer producer, has also the World Cup to thank for raising its sales.

¡°The sales volume was greatly raised,¡± said the director of Kingway¡¯s marketing department who identified himself by his surname Chen. Chen said the company sponsored a series of events during the World Cup period.

For those who preferred to enjoy the event on TV at home, the World Cup period became the best time to throw out old-fashioned TV sets and buy big flat-screen models.

The sales of TV sets in Gome, one of the home appliance chain-retailer giants, rose 60 percent in Shenzhen compared to the same period last year, according to Zhou Hai, an employee with the publicity department of Gome in the city.

¡°Flat-screen, plasma and liquefied crystal-screen TV sets were the most popular,¡± said Zhou.

Playing the card of the World Cup, many TV set manufacturers were competing to grab bigger market share.

The Shenzhen-based TV maker Skyworth had known the benefit the World Cup could bring to the TV industry four years ago when it was held in Asia. It introduced a recordable TV set, especially designed for the Germany World Cup.

Another big TV manufacturer TCL signed Brazilian player Ronaldinho to help it launch a series of new television models.

The result is that two brands were among the bestsellers in Gome last month.