A Windsor business is taking advantage of the FIFA World Cup to boost sales.

Sonny Saadat runs the Flag Depot and he's cashing in.

"I would say around 30 per cent is the increase in sales," Saadat said. "World Cup brings in new customers and also repeat repeat customers for us.

Saadat says the most poplar flags being sold in Windsor are Italian, followed by German, English and Croatian.

The first game of the tournament is on Thursday when host country Brazil takes on Croatia. The tournament lasts a month and will be broadcast on CBC.

Julio Arce stopped at Flag Depot to buy an Argentinean flag Monday.

"This is too bad that Canada was not there, but now because I'm a background Argentinean, I have to go for Argentina," he said. "And my wife is from Brazil, so there's issues there."

Argentina plays Bosnia-Herzegovina Sunday.

Flags are also flying at Pizza Brothers on Wyandotte Street East.

The restaurant's patio is lined with flags from countries with teams participating in the World Cup.

Ali Zeidan, who runs the restaurant, is Lebanese, but he will be cheering for Argentina because Lebanon isn't the tournament.

Zeidan says Windsor has a lot of soccer fans from all around the world. In fact, Windsor is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country.

"I'm trying to support all 32 teams in the World Cup. I've got a lot of customers that are fans and we support the game," he said. "I've got my fans, my customers, requesting to bring their country's flags.

"It's exciting to see everyone get together and enjoy a few hours of the game."