Europeans certainly take their soccer seriously. So much so that a number of businesses tackle the popularity problem by lowering their expectations for completing many transactions after the World Cup gets under way in June.

“We want to issue [eurobonds], if possible, before the [World Cup], Horste Seissingger of KfW, a German state development bank told FT. “Our team needs a lot of support and we have to focus on football.” Korea Development Bank likewise has pointed to the championship as the reason it’s delaying issuance of bonds in the second quarter.

“From the perspective of IPOs, most people who have a choice will try to avoid this period, Andreas Bernstorff of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said in an FT interview. “Even among professional fund managers, many will probably be looking at the television rather than IPOs.” Other says they expect business as usual, since the contests don’t usually begin until after 5 p.m.