Pakistan ball maker to fulfill World Cup dream

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Ottoman

Ottoman

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Sep 15, 2008
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SIALKOT: It was when he felt the roar of the crowd at the 2006 World Cup in Germany that Pakistani factory owner Khawaja Akhtar first dreamt up a goal of his own: to manufacture the ball for the biggest football tournament on the planet.

“The people were chanting all around me. I just thought, 'This is the real thing',” Akhtar told Reuters. “I was part of the crowd. I never had that kind of feeling before.”
His factory in eastern Pakistan had made balls for the German Bundesliga, French league and Champions League, but he had never snagged a World Cup contract.

Last year he finally got his chance - but only 33 days to make it happen.

When Akhtar heard last autumn that Adidas' Chinese supplier for the World Cup couldn't keep up with demand, he immediately invited executives to his plant in Sialkot, a wealthy Pakistani manufacturing town with a long history of leatherwork.



Pakistan ball maker to fulfill World Cup dream - Home - DAWN.COM
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If I recall correctly, last time footballs from Pakistan were only used for practice and not during actual World Cup matches. Nice to see our industry regaining a lost market.

I would like to know, would original footballs (not cheap knock-offs) be available locally? And what would be their approximate price?
 
Muaaz

Muaaz

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Jan 26, 2007
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Dutchy of Touissant
I would like to know, would original footballs (not cheap knock-offs) be available locally? And what would be their approximate price?
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I don't know how to spot the difference but my brother got an original football from bazaar and that cost about 3k.
 
Ottoman

Ottoman

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Muaaz said:
I don't know how to spot the difference but my brother got an original football from bazaar and that cost about 3k.
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Your brother bought an original Brazuca football?

These balls are made using a special thermal bonding technique, whether it's a first I'm not sure. I'm just worried they'll export these and leave none for the local market.
 
Muaaz

Muaaz

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Jan 26, 2007
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Ottoman said:
Your brother bought an original Brazuca football?

These balls are made using a special thermal bonding technique, whether it's a first I'm not sure. I'm just worried they'll export these and leave none for the local market.
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I have absolutely no idea. I just told you what little I knew :p
 
Ottoman

Ottoman

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This, here, is a replica that would be available in the country soon.



Look closely enough and you can see the pentagonal patches that make up the ball.

This is the original ball

 
sTraNg3r

sTraNg3r

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Machine-made footballs took over these men-made (or should I say women-made?) footballs a long time ago when it comes to official match balls
Sadly, none of the ones made in Sialkot will actually be used in the WC.
 
Ottoman

Ottoman

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sTraNg3r said:
Machine-made footballs took over these men-made (or should I say women-made?) footballs a long time ago when it comes to official match balls
Sadly, none of the ones made in Sialkot will actually be used in the WC.
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Are you sure about that? Pakistani made footballs were used in practice sessions in the 2010 edition of the tournament.

[video=facebook;719548491441042]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=719548491441042&set=vb.575055675890325 &type=2&theater[/video]
 
sTraNg3r

sTraNg3r

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Ottoman said:
Are you sure about that? Pakistani made footballs were used in practice sessions in the 2010 edition of the tournament.

[video=facebook;719548491441042]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=719548491441042&set=vb.575055675890325 &type=2&theater[/video]
Click to expand...
In 2012 London Olympics, a Sialkoti company was one of the official suppliers of the ball; whether they were actually used in matches I can't say.

One thing I'm sure about, however, is that it was a straight fight between Chinese machine-made footballs vs our hand-sewn footballs when it came to 2010 WC. Fifa decided to go ahead with the Chinese ones, and ours ended up as replicas that were sold all over the world.

I could be wrong, but the fact that pretty much every player criticised the unpredictable trajectory of the balls used in the WC makes me presume that they were the the newly introduced thermally-bonded machine-made footballs.

Adidas bragging about refining and changing their previous thermal-bonding methods since 2010 - for the new Brazuca - makes me think they will again go for the machine-made ones.

All things said, I wish Adidas and Nike were more actively giving recognition to our footballs, and giving proper credits to the city of Sialkot.
 
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