It's been a frantic three weeks, and for none more so than cafe, bar and restaurant owners around the island, as the World Cup draws to a close with the world's biggest football competition already at the semi-final stage.

Few are the bars or restaurants on the island without a huge plasma television or projector showing a World Cup match, with most owners opting to pay extra to show the games with live English commentary.

In Nicosia, Evochia Restaurant/Bar Manager Leonidas Leonidou, a former Cypriot international footballer himself, believes business has been increasing because of the better games in this year's World Cup, compared to the previous World Cup in 2002.

"The thing is that Cypriots like to watch big games between big nations. When there are games like Senegal v Turkey or USA v Germany, as there were in the last World Cup quarterfinals, Cypriots will not be that compelled to go out and watch them," he was quoted by local media as saying.

"But if you are talking about quarterfinal games such as Brazil v France, England v Portugal and Argentina v Germany, then for them that is a game worth going out to watch", he added.

With tourists the target, holiday resorts like Ayia Napa have been soaking up the glory with almost one in three holidaymakers wearing a football jersey at the peak of the World Cup tournament.

Over in Paphos, Aces Cocktail Bar manager Spyros Kapellides says business has been on the go all the time at his place, adding other bar owners he speaks to have told him that people walk into the bar out of nowhere every time a World Cup match is on.