Sialkot ; home of the best footballs in the world

Sialkot:

"Sialkot is known for creating the highest quality sports products and has a long history of supplying footballs. The city is physically symbolic of the area’s financial dependency on football manufacturing, as one might anticipate. With a population of just under 2 million people, football production employs a large portion of the population, including entire families. Sialkot produced footballs for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1982, and the city achieved international celebrity status when it manufactured the 'Tango Ball,' which bolstered the country's football business.It is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs and is home to various local firms that create 40-60 million footballs per year."

"Nearly every single massive global brands, including Adidas, Puma, Nike, Litto, Select, Mitre, Umbro, Micassa, Wilsoms, Decathion, and Diadora, has acquired its football supply from Pakistan's cottage industry and export-oriented city."

"Approximately 70% of the world's footballs are manufactured in the city of Sialkot. In Sialkot, more than 1,000 soccer ball companies employ around 60,000 people. Pakistan supplied 38 million balls for $154 million ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, despite its FIFA ranking of 198. Every year, almost 40 million balls are produced here. Manufacturers have been under more scrutiny in recent years as consumers have become more aware of the conditions in which their products and footballs are manufactured."

"Adidas commissioned Forward Sports, a Sialkot-based sports goods manufacturer, to make footballs for the FIFA World Cup 2018. Pakistan exported more than 10 million footballs for the 2018 World Cup. Forward Sports sprang to fame after" being awarded a contract to produce over 3,000 "Brazuca" balls for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The firm also makes footballs for the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1 in France, and the Bundesliga in Germany."

"The thermo bonded football named as the “Telstar 18’’ that would be used in the 2018 World Cup was initially debuted during the 2014 World Cup. Lionel Messi, the Argentinean star footballer and former forward for the great Spanish club Barcelona, announced the ball's name during an official presentation in Moscow."

Current situation:

"Because the FIFA has suspended hand stitched soccer balls from international competitions, Sialkot businesses are increasingly adopting modern technology to meet the demands of their international customers. Despite reports that only 5 out of 35 manufacturers were using cutting-edge technology for football production, the majority of businesses were still using the old hand stitched method."

Footballs manufactured in Pakistan that were used in FIFA World Cup throughout history :

• "Unico Etrusco , 1990: The Etruscan's excellent art and Italy's ancient history inspired the name and appearance of this product."

•  "Questra ,1994: Because it was the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which sent the first humans to the Moon, this ball had a space-themed name and decor."

• "Tricolore ,1998: The colors of the French flag and the country's iconic cockerel symbol were included in this ball."

• "Fevernova ,2002: The design trend that began in 1978 was broken by a new print pattern influenced by Far Eastern cultures."

• "Teamgeist , 2006: Each of these footballs was customised with the name of the stadium, the date, the time, and the teams competing, with a gold version being used in the final."

• "Jabulani , 2010: The ball's skeleton was made up of eight thermally bonded three-dimensional panels with Adida's 'Grip and Groove' technology creating a grooved surface."

•  "Brazuca , 2014: The zig-zagging paths of the Amazon river and traditional Brazilian bangles served as inspiration for the design of this six-paneled ball." 

•  "Telstar 18 , 2018 : This football was inspired by Russian landscapes, and its design pays homage to the company's first match ball, the Telstar, which was named after the original Telstar communications satellite.The production of the specifically constructed, thermally bonded footballs necessitates a great deal of skill. Heat is used to attach the panels to the football, which was new technique that Adidas adopted and handed to the Pakistani business Forward Sports in 2013.Pakistan supplied 38 million balls for the 2018 World Cup in Russia."