0
ISLAMABAD Pakistan has exported around 3.5 million balls worth 5.2 million dollars for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, Chairman Pakistan Sports Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PSGMEA) Zia-ur-Rehman said.
While talking to APP, he said the balls Pakistan was supplying were being used for training and promotional purposes only and not in the competition itself.
These are promising signs and 3.5 million balls is a huge figure considering that the penetration of machine-made balls in the international market has caused a serious dent to Pakistan's hand-stitched football industry.
Only a few years ago around 70 per cent of world's footballs were prepared in Sialkot and the country on average was exporting 40 million balls worth 210 million dollars produced annually by some 60,000 highly skilled labours.
Sialkot gained international celebrity status when it produced the “Tango” ball for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, kicking off a lucrative industry. Recently, however, Sialkot's and Pakistan's share fell with the country grabbing only 30 per cent of the total orders floated globally in anticipation and for the World Cup.
Efficient, state-of-the-art machinery is one of the factors that have contributed to this slump as have issues of child labour in Pakistan's football industry. And it was the latter which most likely prompted football's international governing body, FIFA, to hand out the contract for this year's World Cup to German sports goods giant Adidas.
Adidas, partnered with China to produce the thermally bonded “Jabulani” balls.
The fact that several top international players and officials have shown a disliking to Jabulani might work in Pakistan's favour, Furthermore, the country can take confidence from the fact that it provided the balls used in this year's UEFA Champions League final in Madrid. But realistically, it needs to upgrade its industry with new-age equipment to be able to compete in the international market.
“In the past we have been contributing millions of dollars to the national kitty by exporting footballs but our share in the international market has registered a significant decline, mainly due to the use of machine-made balls for the main events,” Zia said.
New players in the international market, particularly China, India, Japan and Thailand have posed a real challenge to Pakistan football industry. “Lack of modern technology is the main factor in tilting the balance against the local industry,” Zia asserted.
“No doubt, the machine-made footballs have affected our businesses, but we are in process of buying latest machinery and soon the best world teams will again be using our balls,” he said.
He said Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the cooperation of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority has put in place the final steps for the establishment of Sports Industries Development Centre.
“Soon we will be in a position to produce one thousands balls daily by using modern techniques, Zia added.
The Sialkot industry will also benefit from the report by Independent Monitoring Association for Child Labour (IMAC) which states that no one under the legal age of 14 is working in the city's football industry.
IMAC chief executive Nasir Dogar says his staff visit 2,000 to 2,500 workplaces each month in an area covering 6,000 square kilometres (2,320 square miles) and six cities, including Sialkot.
“We came across only one incident since January this year, when one child was found but that was also a school-going child,” Dogar said. The monitoring process, he argues, has benefited the industry by injecting quality control, satisfying buyers concerns, helping producers meet deadlines and therefore keep costs down. -APP
