As France returns home disgraced and Italy prepares to find out how many of its clubs will be found guilty of a match-fixing scandal, Puma may turn out to the biggest winner of all after yesterday’s World Cup final. The German sports goods firm sponsored a World Cup winner for the first time as its top team Italy beat rival Adidas’ France, giving a boost to sales prospects for replica jerseys. The World Cup is a huge event for apparel makers like Nike, Adidas and Puma, with the industry spending millions of euros in sponsoring teams to bolster their brand images and lift sales on product like boots, soccer balls and jerseys. In 2002, Nike’s Brazil beat Adidas’ Germany; in ’98 Adidas’ France beat Nike’s Brazil. This is the first time Puma, who was also the tournaments top supplier, has been victorious. Most of Puma’s teams are Asian and African, and dropped out in the first round. Nike saw sales surge following Brazil’s World Cup win in 2002, while Adidas’ Greece shirts were sold out for days after the Greek national team lifted the European Championship Cup. Last week, Puma said sales of soccer merchandise could have risen 40 percent in the first half of 2006 thanks to the World Cup.