By Ashraf Siddiqui
QATAR – FIFA World Cup Qatar - 2022, a boisterous tournament with groundbreaking figures and memorable moments both on and off the pitch has become a showpiece sporting event to remember for everyone who has already made it and will make it to Qatar, as well as the billions glued to their TVs and smart phones around the world.
Hosting the World Cup was a distant dream, for decades, which has become a reality. Qatar’s visionary planning, well selected team and hard work has indeed come to fruition and the country is now hosting an impressive and outstanding edition of the FIFA World Cup. The mega world sport will leave an important legacy for the soccer loving nations around the globe.
“Al Rihla” (The Journey) name given to the official match football by FIFA being used during 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar is made in Pakistan and is supplied by Adidas, world's renowned sports equipment and accessories manufacturers and suppliers.
Pakistan based “Forward Sports” company are the manufacturers of “Al Rihla” FIFA World Football besides Chinese company. Pakistan had supplied hand-stitched soccer balls for most of the World Cups from the 1990s to 2010.
Forward Sports Company, based in Sialkot, a city of Pakistan well known in the world of sports for its world class quality manufacturing of sports equipment including handballs, beach balls, shin guards, goalkeeping gloves, medicine balls, cricket bats, hockey sticks, shining cricket and hockey balls, to other accessories like kits, shoes, and gloves.
Though, Pakistan’s national football team ranks 194 out of 211 teams in the FIFA world rankings and has never qualified for the World cup but the country’s more than 220 million people are still part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar as Forward Sports, one of the two manufacturers of the ball, that have provided FIFA with at least 300,000 units of the match ball for this event.
About 70 percent of all footballs used across the world have been manufactured in Pakistan by approximately 60,000 employees. Forward Sports, is producing 750,000 balls per month for global brands including Adidas.
The 14th successive Official match ball “Al Rihla” was successively created by Adidas for FIFA Cup was revealed on 30th March this year by FIFA for the World Cup Qatar 2022.
AlRihla is the first FIFA World Cup ball to be made exclusively with water based inks and glues. The new 20-piece panel shape ball's surface textures provides the speed, highest levels of accuracy and reliability for fast paced action and precision with maximal shape, air retention and rebound accuracy.
It is inspired by the local Qatari culture, architecture, iconic traditional boats and flag of Qatar. (PR)
