Inserts:

00:03 Report / Miltiades Schmidt
00:21 Anne Pütz / Puma Spokesperson
01:25 Wolfgang Maennig / Professor at the Department of Economics of Hamburg University

Script:

00:01
A Street decked out in national colors. The world’s largest practice session. And excited fans welcome teams to their World Cup headquarters.

Football fever is rising…and with it, the sales expectations of major sports retailers.

+++ SOT Anne Pütz, Puma Spokesperson +++
A fan is definitely willing to pay a lot of money for a jersey, especially if it features his favorite star. That's one factor of course. But there are so-called replicas, smaller versions for children.   

The farther a team goes, the more the jersey sells. The national jersey in Germany costs 100 euros. 

Sports apparel makers sponsor several teams to spread the risk. 

++++Grafik rein+++

Adidas 14, Nike 12 and Puma 11. 

++++++Grafik raus++++

+++ SOT Anne Pütz, Puma Spokesperson +++
It's our biggest showing in 20 years. And that alone is a big, big success for us. With Portugal, we have a national team that I think has what it takes to go a long way. 

Competitor Adidas is hoping for record sales on the back of the Word Cup. Fifa says the competition helps boost the economy, such as through fans spending on hotels. It expects to generate 80 billion dollars in extra spending.  

+++ SOT Wolfgang Maennig, Sportökonom, Universität Hamburg +++  
There are now dozens of studies that have looked at major events - be it the World Cup, the Olympic Games, the Super Bowl in the U.S, and they all come to practically the same conclusion. Either no effect at all, or only very minor, short-term effects.

The World Cup costs billions of dollars - for example, for stadium construction. And the economic important is widely overestimated. 

+++ SOT Wolfgang Maennig, Sportökonom, Universität Hamburg +++
A hotel housekeeper or doorman don't earn more. Their hourly wage remains the same - perhaps they work more hours, which they can take off later. So the impact on the locals, in some cases, much smaller than previously thought.  

The big economic winner could be FIFA itself. It expects to rake in around 13 billion dollars...No wonder. Ticket prices for the final are going for as much as $10,990. That's a new record.  

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