He said the bar had increased its inventory of drinks by 50 per cent more than normal, to cover the expected extra demand.

'To avoid chaos, we will ask our guests which team they support and ask them to watch the match in the room set aside for their team's supporters,' the manager said.

The owner of the Houhai Bar in the Shichahai Lake area said a football fan had booked a room to watch the game.

He said he had quadrupled his usual beer order for the final. 'It is a golden opportunity for us, and of course we hope to take advantage of it,' he said.

But the match will not be a bonanza for all the city's drinking establishments.

The Central bar inside the Workers' Stadium was ordered to shut today. The owner said all the shops inside the stadium grounds would be closed during the match as a security precaution.

'We really regret not being able to open the bar,' she said. 'If we opened, we would make a lot of money because we are so close to the game, and our guests could feel the atmosphere from here.'

Tonight's match will be the first time in two decades that a Chinese football team has made it to the final of the Asian Cup, and businesses are seeing the event as a commercial opportunity. For instance, Beijing's Nirvana Fitness Centre has launched a promotion giving two years' membership for the price of one if China wins.

However, security is the main concern for local and match administrators. A security official in the Shichahai Lake area said twice the usual number of staff would be on patrol.

Thousands of police officers and People's Liberation Army troops will be deployed in and around the Workers' Stadium.