LANZHOU, China, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- On the day before the first match of 2022 FIFA World Cup, Guo Bingxin was excited to receive an 85-inch television that he bought in order to watch the action with his family and friends.

Including Guo, tens of thousands of Chinese football lovers' enthusiasm has been lit by the 2022 World Cup. Many of them either watch TV, or buy World Cup accessories and play football with friends to enjoy the month-long tournament.

37-year-old Guo, who lives in Lanzhou City in northwest China's Gansu Province, has also bought four different football jerseys, a pair of football boots, an Al Rihla pro football and a set of football video games along with the big TV set.

"This shopping list is just for the 2022 World Cup," said Guo, adding that he has been preparing for the tournament at home since the start of this month.

32-year-old Gao Xiangxiang, a physical education teacher at a high school in Baiyin City in Gansu Province, has organized several five-a-side football matches with his friends in October to celebrate the World Cup.

"Many of my friends are football lovers, we also plan to play several football matches during the World Cup," said Gao.

Football means a lot to Gao, who watched the World Cup for the first time with his father in 1998 when he was a kid.

"I'm really into football, and I chose it as my major when I went to college," said Gao, who often shows his students videos of World Cup matches in football lessons.

With the opening of the 2022 World Cup, the popularity of football-related items has been increasing since this November. According to the data from e-commerce platform JD.com, football boots, footballs and jerseys have become the most popular commodities, with 40 percent, 28 percent and 25 percent respectively of the total turnover of football-related items. Last week, the turnover of football jerseys saw a year-on-year increase of 300 percent.

Luo Le, lecturer of sports of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, indicated the 2022 World Cup attracted more and more Chinese football lovers to watch and pay.

"Football lovers not only focus on the World Cup itself, but also pay more attention to the charm of football including World Cup accessories," Luo said. Enditem

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