The following is a contribution by Aamir Nazir Gondal, the commercial counsellor at the Pakistani Embassy in South Korea, in anticipation of the start of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil on June 12. ― Ed.


Pakistan won the 1992 Cricket World Cup but it has not been so victorious in soccer. Ranked 159th by FIFA, the South Asian nation will not be among the 32 teams vying for glory at the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil from June 12.

But Pakistan will make a strong presence as a key supplier of the official World Cup ball. More than 3,000 Adidas Brazuca balls to be used in the tournament have been manufactured by Forward Sports in Sialkot, Pakistan’s manufacturing hub for sports goods.

For decades, soccer balls made in Sialkot have been regarded as the gold standard in quality. Pakistan exports 30 million to 42 million balls per year. Sialkot has since prospered as an entrepreneurial capital of Pakistan in the production of sports goods, surgical instruments and leather products. 

The story of Forward Sports and Brazuca is nothing short of a fairy tale.

Khawaja Akhtar, the owner of Forward Sports, had supplied balls for the German Bundesliga, the French League and the UEFA Champions League but never for the World Cup. The opportunity came when he realized that Chinese contractors were facing difficulty in delivering the official World Cup balls.

He invited Adidas executives to Sialkot for a visit, but they were not impressed with the production facilities. So, Akhtar invested to set up a high-tech operation in the factory in just 33 days. Forward Sports got the contract.

The thermally bonded balls performed more consistently than hand-stitched balls. Now, Forward Sports will supply more than 2 million of the 13 million balls produced by Adidas, the world’s second-largest sporting goods manufacturer.

The official Brazuca match ball retails for $160. Lower-quality balls are available from $25. Pakistan’s global share had declined to less than 18 percent. But that is changing fast, thanks to Akhtar and entrepreneurs like him.

Their skill and commitment have brought Pakistan back to supplying top-quality World Cup balls. Representatives of foreign brands regularly inspect factories around the world.

Child labor is forbidden, unions are allowed, and conditions for workers have improved. In addition to a minimum wage, extra benefits like social security, life insurance and transportation have become the norm. Employment opportunities for women have increased. A quarter of the 1,400 employees at Forward Sports making Brazuca balls are women.

Thanks to Pakistani entrepreneurs like Akhtar and the female employees at Forward Sports, soccer fans can better enjoy the skills of Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and Son Heung-min.