MANILA, Philippines - For the first time in 32 years, hand-stitched footballs called “Brazurcas†make their appearance in the FIFA World Cup and more than 3,000 of these will be kicked around by famous stars from the world’s top 32 teams like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi in various venues.
The balls are produced by Forward Sports Sialkot for Adidas.“Brazurca†is an informal local term that means “Brazilian†or to describe the Brazilian way of life.
The hand-stitched balls replace the machine-made footballs produced in China in the last two decades. The FIFA World 1982 was the last time Pakistan-made hand-stitched football, originally called “Tango†was in use in the World Cup.
Forward Sports Sialkot has a manufacturing capacity of 350,000 balls per month and it has been supplying balls to some of the world’s top football competitions including the Champions League, the German Bundesliga – and now the FIFA Brazil World Cup.
Pakistan’s sports factories produce 40 milllon Brazurcas worth $210 million annually under the expert hands of some 60,000 extremely skilled male and female workers.
“The hand-stitched balls made by skilled workers of a Sialkot’s factory would again underline the fact that Pakistan, even though it has never ever played in this prestigious tournament – being ranked 159th by FIFA – it has the potential to extend its helping hand to international teams to passionately enjoy this thrilling sport,â€says Forward Sports Sialkot.