The advance on Moscow is all but complete and for Chelsea and Manchester United that means the chance to win the biggest prize in European club football - but the winners of the Champions League final in Moscow on Wednesday will not only be on the field in the Luzhniki stadium.

For businesses big and small, this week is all about cashing in on arguably the biggest night in televised European sport, on wringing the maximum benefit from sometimes huge investments.

Foremost among them will be the corporate sponsors. They will have a captive audience of perhaps 12 million Britons and at least 100 million more worldwide. The six main sponsors, including Heineken, Sony and MasterCard, have paid £20 million a year each for their logos to be displayed on all Champions League material and for their adverts to be run by national broadcasters as a condition for screening the event.

The same applies to ITV, the final's principal British broadcaster, which is licking its lips at the huge audience that the match generates. Having paid £42 million for the rights, ITV has raised its advertising rates for the occasion, increasing the price of slots during the match by 50 per cent to more than £200,000 for a 30-second segment.

Not that this will put anybody off. Ford, another main sponsor, has booked a minute-long advertisement for its new Kuga during the programme, on the basis that for Europeans he Champions League final is as important as the Super Bowl is in the United States. If the Kuga is to make its television debut, there is no better time or place.

Nor will the focus be on the stadium alone. Red Square will be awash with baseball caps, bags and branded products in a specially reserved commercial area designed to attract English fans and television cameras. Indeed, for one week only, Moscow is open for business like no other city. Vodafone, which has been seeking entry into the Russian mobile market, is hoping to confirm a partnership this week. David Wheldon, its brand director, said: “We are taking about 400 guests to the final. There is business to be done.”

If that sounds big, Ford will have 880 guests in the stands and a fleet of 183 branded vehicles on hand.

Sony, whose equipment is used to broadcast the match, will demonstrate how it can turn football into an “entertainment experience” for potential clients. David Bush, the head of marketing for its electronic business, said: “We are trialling technology which allows fans to watch highlights and access game statistics on PlayStation Portable devices during games.”

However, some question whether the money spent on corporate clients is cost-effective. Vodafone is ending its sponsorship next year. Uefa is seeking new blue-chip sponsors from the technology and financial services sectors to boost revenues.

One client manager said: “You have to make the experience unique to your brand. You will see thousands of guests traipsing through the Luzhniki hospitality areas with logos everywhere but some of them won't even remember which company took them.”

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