The national football team of Pakistan is ranked 200th out of 211 teams in the FIFA world rankings, but the country’s more than 200 million people will still feel a part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, which will be held in Doha this winter.
Pakistan, along with China, is supplying the footballs for the upcoming mega event, which will be held in the winter rather than the summer due to the hot weather in Qatar’s capital.
“We have been chosen to supply footballs for the World Cup once again, which is an honour for us and a testament to the quality we have maintained,” said Khawaja Masood Akhtar, chairman of Forward Sports, a contract manufacturer for global sports brand Adidas.
Workers at the company’s sprawling facility on the outskirts of Sialkot are putting in extra hours to ensure the footballs arrive on time.
The city, which borders India, is well-known for producing high-quality sporting goods and has long supplied footballs for major events.
Sialkot’s main strength is not the production of high-quality footballs. It also exports sporting goods such as cricket bats, hockey sticks, and gleaming (cricket and hockey) balls, as well as other accessories such as kits, shoes, and gloves.
Sports goods exports bring in $1 billion per year, with footballs alone accounting for $350 million to $500 million.
