Cabo Verde wows at World Cup – with an economic assist from China
From boots to building a stadium, China played a vital role in helping the West African nation qualify for football’s biggest tournament
As Cabo Verde lined up against Argentina in the biggest match in the tiny island nation’s football history, China has played a hard-to-miss role in important chapters of its journey to the Fifa World Cup 2026 – from its players’ boots to the first standardised sports stadium.
Vozinha’s boots were made by Xufeng Sports, a Chinese company based in Putian in the southeast province of Fujian, one of China’s largest sports footwear manufacturing hubs.
The shoemaker received orders for more than 200 pairs of football boots before the tournament, followed by another 20 for the World Cup, co-hosted this year by the United States, Mexico and Canada. According to Fujian Television, the company only realised Vozinha was wearing its boots after his string of saves went viral on the internet.
After the match, the brand said it had received a flood of calls from fans seeking to buy the boots, though for now it was only able to accept domestic orders.