With millions of people around the world fixated on World Cup matches, soccer has found another unlikely fan in the head monk of China's famed Shaolin Temple.

Abbot Shi Yongxin will fly to Germany to watch the World Cup soccer final at the special invitation of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the temple said on Wednesday according to the Xinhua news agency.

Shaolin monks demonstrate their kung fu skills during a tour of Taiwan in August 2005. With millions of people around the world fixated on World Cup matches, soccer has found another unlikely fan in the head monk of China's famed Shaolin Temple. [AFP]

The abbot said the FIFA invitation was thanks to the growing influence worldwide of the Shaolin Temple and Shaolin kungfu.

Established about 1,500 years ago, the Shaolin Temple is famed for combining martial arts with Zen Buddhism and features long sessions of meditation to purify the mind.

It has in recent years sought to shed its its reclusive reputation, increasingly stepping into the spotlight to promote trademark protection for the temple and raise money.

The temple this year announced it was teaming up with a Chinese TV station to produce an "American Idol"-styled reality show that will see kungfu players worldwide compete to be the top kungfu star.

For many, Shaolin and the beautiful game will also always draw a humorous link via the hit 2001 Hong Kong comedy "Shaolin Soccer", about a washed-up group of monks from the temple who form a dynamic football team.