The rising popularity of the grassroots tournament Jiangsu Football City League, a regional football competition in east China's Jiangsu province, has fueled a surge in demand for related merchandise with sportswear and fan accessories going viral.
Dubbed "Su Super League," the amateur city-derby tournament featuring 13 teams -- each representing a city in Jiangsu Province -- has captured the collective imagination of around 195,700 live spectators, with online viewership soaring into the hundreds of millions. Its attendance has even surpassed that of some established professional leagues.
Amid the football fever, football related products are selling like hot cakes.
A standout hit is the "call me Nan Ge" ("call me big brother Nan") tote bag, which has become an overnight sensation. The flashy "call me big brother Nan" gloat printed on the bag refers to Nantong's triumph over provincial capital Nanjing in the first round of the tournament.
Its designer created the bag in just one day as a spontaneous idea, yet within five days of hitting the market, the 19.9-yuan (2.76 U.S. dollars) accessory's sales have exceeded 1,000 pieces, sending online orders skyrocketing.
As the league gains attention, sales of footballs, jerseys, and cleats have also spiked.
At a sports retail shop in Nanjing, shoppers flocked to football gear sections, prompting the store to restock and roll out promotions.
"People's enthusiasm for football has noticeably boosted sales. We've seen a 20 to 30 percent jump in sale this month," said a salesclerk at a mall.
The sports craze extends beyond merchandise, with sports centers in Nantong City reporting soaring bookings ahead of summer.
"We expect the number of long-term venue partnerships with football, basketball, and badminton training centers to reach around 10 in total," said Ding Li, a gym operations director in Nantong.
Jiangsu's amateur football league drives sports consumption surge
U.S. stocks finished slightly higher on Monday, staging a late-session recovery as investors navigated a volatile landscape marked by a criminal probe into the Federal Reserve leadership.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.13 points, or 0.17 percent, to 49,590.2. The S&P 500 added 10.99 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,977.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 62.56 points, or 0.26 percent, to 23,733.9. Despite the positive close, the market experienced significant intraday turbulence, with the Dow dropping nearly 500 points at its session lows.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in positive territory. Consumer staples and industrials led the gainers, rising 1.42 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. Financials and energy were the primary laggards, declining 0.8 percent and 0.66 percent.
Market sentiment was initially shaken by an announcement on Sunday from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who confirmed that federal prosecutors are investigating him over the Fed's multi-billion-dollar project to renovate its headquarters. Powell characterized the probe as an attempt by the Trump administration to compromise the Fed's independence.
Further weighing on the financial sector was a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year, which triggered a sell-off in banking stocks amid concerns over restricted lending and reduced profitability. Capital One shares plummeted 6.42 percent, while Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America also recorded losses.
In contrast, retail giant Walmart led the Dow's advance, climbing 3 percent following news of its upcoming inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index. The company also announced a strategic partnership with Google's Gemini AI to enhance the digital shopping experience.
Investors are awaiting Tuesday's release of the U.S. consumer price index for December 2025. Following last week's cooling labor market data, market participants increasingly expect the Fed to maintain interest rates at their current levels during the upcoming January meeting.
U.S. stocks close higher amid criminal probe into Fed chair Powell
