The official promotional image of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico

01

The sports goods industry, known as the "unbreakable doll"

The sports goods industry is known as the "unbreakable doll industry";. Multiple factors such as the periodic explosion of event economy, the craze for mass fitness, and national policy support have driven the development of the industry, and also stimulated the public's pursuit of a healthy life and sports socializing, providing a continuous growth impetus for the industry.

With the increasing refinement and diversity of sports types, the public's demand for sports goods continues to rise. Coupled with the country's active promotion of national fitness, the sports goods industry is developing more and more vigorously.

According to the data from Yiwu Index, it is predicted that the scale of China's sports goods market will exceed 700 billion yuan in 2024 and maintain a compound annual growth rate of approximately 8%. It is expected to exceed 750 billion yuan in 2025, making it the second largest sports goods market in the world after the United States (the United States is expected to have a sports goods market size of 950 billion yuan in 2025).

The market size of sports goods in China from 2024 to 2028 (in billions of yuan)

Data source: Yiwu Index

www.ywindex.com

Nowadays, sports in China are showing a trend of diversification. Ball games represented by basketball, badminton and table tennis are quite popular among the public. According to statistics, the proportion of people participating in ball games in 2024 will be 46.99%, second only to walking (62.6%) and running (53.6%). Meanwhile, emerging sports such as frisbee and cycling, due to their strong social attributes, have become among the most popular sports among young people. Home fitness is continuously expanding in terms of the number of participants and the consumer market due to its advantages of not being restricted by time and space.

Behind the trend of diversified sports types, there are no more than the following three main reasons:

The first is the improvement of the public's health awareness. On the one hand, modern society is generally confronted with health challenges, with a sharp increase in work pressure, a high incidence of obesity and chronic diseases. Exercise has become an important way for people of all ages, from teenagers to middle-aged and elderly people, to relieve stress, manage their figures and maintain good health. On the other hand, national policies strongly support national fitness, providing a powerful impetus for the sports goods industry.

Image source for National Fitness: Internet

Second, campus sports are accelerating their popularization. The state has been paying more and more attention to the sports and health of teenagers. As early as 2020, the Ministry of Education proposed that the score of physical education in the high school entrance examination in schools would be increased year by year to the same level as that of Chinese, mathematics and English. The physical education test for the Beijing high school entrance examination has expanded the selection of items from "8 to 3" to "22 to 4", and added new items such as ball games for assessment. Shanghai has implemented a daily physical education class for primary schools and is gradually extending it to middle schools.

The third is the upgrading of mass consumption. With the improvement of living standards, the public's choices of sports have become unprecedentedly rich. From running to Pilates, and then to flag football and other emerging sports, they keep emerging. Sharing daily sports experiences and exercising in groups have become new "social currencies" for young people, driving a consumption boom of related sports goods.

With the continuous upgrading of mass consumption, the consumption scenarios of the sports goods industry are constantly expanding, and the categories and forms of products are also continuously innovating and becoming more specialized. According to the different application scenarios of sports goods, they can be classified into seven categories:

• Fitness equipment/apparatus: such as treadmills, steppers, etc.

   

• Campus sports equipment: such as pommel horses, shot put, starting guns, etc.

• Fitness equipment/apparatus: such as grip strength trainers, arm strength trainers, etc.

   

• Competition event supplies: such as football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, as well as Go, poker and various other event supplies;

• Sports protective equipment: such as ski goggles, wrist and knee guards, protective glasses, etc.

   

• Sportswear: such as sports gloves, sports shoes and socks, sports clothing, sports caps, etc.

   

• Other sports goods; Such as souvenirs, trophies, sports audio-visual products, etc.

The popularity of health management is on the rise, and the public's enthusiasm to "get moving" is directly reflected in the consumption of sports goods. Overall sales of large fitness equipment such as stair climbing machines and elliptical machines have stabilized, while small fitness items like dumbbells, abdominal wheels and resistance bands are more favored by purchasers.

A sports goods vendor in the third district of Yiwu Market said, "We achieved the sales volume of small fitness equipment for the whole year in the first quarter of this year, and even exceeded it by a considerable margin." Fitness products such as resistance ropes and wave speed balls have become internet-famous bestsellers in the Yiwu market. Since late October last year, the sales volume of the resistance band series has reached 100,000 units in the past half year.

Online "seeding" leads to strong sales offline. In the past three years, the growth rate of the e-commerce retail market for sports goods has been higher than the overall national e-commerce retail level. Young people are enthusiastic about online "seeding" and consumption, driving a sales boom of sports goods. According to the data, the e-commerce sales of sports goods across the country reached 333.745 billion yuan in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 22.59%.

To cater to this consumption trend, business operators in Yiwu Market are actively making plans, and both online and offline sales channels are working hard simultaneously. A sports goods business owner in the third district of Yiwu Market said, "We have our own store on online wholesale platforms and also post our daily business updates on Xiaohongshu and Douyin. Dumbbells, foam rollers and other products are the best-selling categories this year."

Image source of home fitness equipment: Yiwu Index

The branding process of sports goods is accelerating. Due to changes in consumer demand and reasons such as identity recognition, the core of competition in the sports goods industry has shifted from production capacity scale to building brand value. In the first quarter of 2025, domestic sports brands accounted for 53.8% of the domestic market share, surpassing international brands for the first time. The combined market share of the three major sports brands, Anta (including FILA), Li-Ning and Xtep, in the domestic market exceeds 35%, dominating the mass sports market. Regional brands such as Hongxing Erke and 361° are accelerating technological upgrades to seize niche markets. International giants Nike and Adidas still dominate the high-end professional field.

Many business operators in Yiwu Market have shifted from the single contract manufacturing model to building independent innovation and branding. According to the statistics of Yiwu Index, there are currently over 240 merchants with their own brands in Yiwu Market, including local brands with decades of history such as Rex and Yiti Jian. Vice President Wu of the Yiwu Market Sports and Fitness Products Industry Association said, "Nowadays, everyone is gradually transforming their 'price advantage' into a 'value advantage' through brands. Without brands, the road ahead will become increasingly difficult."

Some sports goods brands in Yiwu Market. Image source: Yiwu Index

Intelligent and cost-effective products are more popular in the market. Take VR badminton as an example. Recently, Li Ning launched a smart racket that captures 12 types of data in real time, including the speed and Angle of the swing, through a 6-axis sensor. Combined with VR glasses, it can simulate real competition scenarios, and its sales have soared. Large-scale fitness equipment such as smart drag adjustment exercise bikes within 1,000 yuan and high-speed true slope treadmills in the 1,000 yuan range, which offer additional features without increasing the price, are more likely to be recognized by consumers.

The interface image of the VR badminton game is from the Internet

As the largest exporter of sports goods, China's sports goods export value reached 28.396 billion US dollars in 2024, with a year-on-year growth of 6.77%.

The North American market will account for 31.41% of the global sports goods market share in 2024, reaching 155.01 billion US dollars, and is expected to grow at a rate of 3.45% over the next five years. Among them, the United States is the country with the largest global sports goods market and also the largest export market for China's sports goods. In 2024, China's sports goods exports to the United States reached 8.928 billion US dollars, accounting for 31.44% of the total exports. In terms of product categories, the US market has a strong demand for ball games, fitness equipment, and outdoor leisure sports goods.

The Asia-Pacific market is expected to account for 38.12% of the global sports goods market share in 2024, reaching 188.09 billion US dollars, with a projected growth rate of 5.85% over the next five years. Among them, Japan and Australia are important export markets for China's sports goods. Consumers have high demands for quality and have a large demand for lightweight fitness equipment, sports shoes and clothing, etc. In addition, the sports goods market size in India leads the growth rate in the Asia-Pacific market, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.33% from 2025 to 2029.

The European market will account for 19.32% of the global sports goods market share in 2024, reaching 95.31 billion US dollars, with a growth rate of 4.17% over the next five years. Among them, the UK has the largest market size in the European market, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 3.65% from 2024 to 2029. Mid-to-high-end, intelligent home fitness equipment has become a new growth point in the European sports goods consumption market, especially favored by purchasers from countries and regions such as Germany and the Netherlands.

02

From the same items used in events to fitness gadgets, Yiwu has it all

According to the monitoring of Yiwu Index, since 2020, the prosperity index of sports and entertainment goods has generally shown a fluctuating upward trend. Driven by the upsurge of international sports events, the prosperity index of sports and entertainment goods rose by 22.72% and 11.57% respectively in 2022 and 2023.

The sports and entertainment goods prosperity index of Yiwu Market from 2020 to 2025

Data source: Yiwu Index ©

www.ywindex.com

The sports goods industry in Yiwu Market started in the 1980s. After more than 40 years of development, it has become one of the pillar industries of Yiwu Market. The relevant merchants are mainly distributed on the second and fourth floors of the market in the third zone of the International Trade City. Currently, there are over 450 business stalls and more than 380 business entities within the market, with a total business area of 20,000 square meters.

The main product categories in the venue include ball rackets, sports equipment and accessories, training and fitness equipment, sports protective gear and other sports goods. The ownership rate of self-owned brand products accounts for 64%, approximately 240 companies. Among them, direct sales from manufacturers account for 70%, general agents and distributors account for 10%, and general agents account for 20%.

From the perspective of product sales regions, the main export destinations are the Middle East, Africa, Europe, America, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions, with an industry's outward orientation of over 75%. The domestic sales cover the whole country, with the majority in the East China, North China regions and the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan and Heilongjiang.

No matter where the Olympic Games or the World Cup are held, it will always be Yiwu that sees a flood of orders. This popular saying is widely spread among market merchants. After numerous major international sports events, merchants in Yiwu have accumulated rich experience. From the sale of regular sports goods to customized event-themed products, souvenirs and gifts, they have developed a mature "event economy" strategy.

• The sole supplier of the plush toy of the mascot "Vinicius" for the 2016 Rio Paralympics was in Yiwu.

• For the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, from flags to cheering horns, jerseys and footballs, products made in Yiwu almost occupied 70% of the market share of World Cube-related products.

• For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yiwu enterprises received orders for official wristbands worth over a million yuan, and at the same time, they exported sports goods to France worth 1.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.7%.

Foreign merchants purchasing football products from Yiwu market. Source: Yiwu Index

As the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico - the largest football event to date - approaches, the "football fever" in Yiwu has quietly heated up.

A merchant dealing in sports goods in Yiwu Market said, "Due to the previous US tariff hikes, customers are worried that orders may not be delivered normally. Therefore, this year's shipping period is earlier than in previous years. Recently, everyone is scrambling for shipping space. Some customers haven't even finalized the design drawings yet, yet they ask us to reserve orders." As the US tariff policy shows a temporary easing, a large number of merchants are seizing the 90-day policy window to accelerate their shipments and release "World Cup" orders in a concentrated manner to get a head start on the World Cup.

This World Cup has a long event duration and a wide coverage of people, resulting in a huge demand for sports goods. The export peak season of Yiwu market is expected to last until 2026. "Whether it's the props for setting up the stadium, the souvenirs for sale, or the cheering equipment purchased by fans themselves, they are all the main categories in Yiwu," said a sports goods vendor in the third district of Yiwu Market.

From the Qatar World Cup, the Paris Olympics to next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico... ... Every time a major competition approaches, Yiwu Market is fully prepared to seize the opportunities brought by the event economy.

Ensure transportation capacity. Facing the cross-border logistics peak brought by the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Yiwu has established an efficient, diverse and stable global transportation capacity guarantee system. Relying on a mature transportation network, merchants in Yiwu have reserved shipping space in advance to ensure smooth logistics links from factories to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Even if demand surges during the event, they can still guarantee that orders are delivered on time, safely and efficiently.

Image source: Internet

Capacity upgrade. To meet the potential explosive and diversified order demands for World Cup derivative products such as flags, clothing, accessories, souvenirs, and party supplies, merchants in Yiwu have completed the capacity upgrade of their core factories. By introducing intelligent equipment, optimizing production processes, and strengthening supply chain collaboration, we enhance production efficiency and manufacturing capabilities, ensuring strong capacity flexibility. This enables us to respond promptly to fluctuations in orders of different scales and categories, providing sufficient, stable, and timely product supply guarantees for World Cup purchasers, and fearlessly facing the challenges of peak events.

Image source: Internet

Product iteration. From high-tech fan cheering equipment to personalized customized souvenirs, the World Cup product production line in Yiwu combines creativity, practicality and topic appeal, precisely catering to the diversified and quality-oriented consumption upgrade demands of the North American and Latin American markets, bringing surprising experiences to global fans and supporting the World Cup.