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The Adidas Brazuca is the Official match ball of the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup. It is made by the company Adidas, a FIFA Partner and FIFA World Cup Official Match Ball supplier since 1970.
When Adidas needed extra manufacturing help the Chinese supplier Adidas failed to keep up with the demand of providing soccer balls for the World cup in Rio de Janeiro, So they looked for an alternate supply source.
At that moment a Pakistani ball manufacturing company, Forward Sports Private Limited in Sialkot, who has made balls for the German Bundesliga, French league and the Champions League, and has been working with Adidas since 1995 stepped in and won the contract.
The 159th-ranked football nation and a country known as a cricketing nation; Pakistan now exports the soccer balls for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
In an interview to the media The factory owner, Malik Khuwaja Masood Akhtar said that “ Making Brazuca was a Challenge. We normally make hand-made footballs. Manufacturing machine-made balls was a very tough task for us. We had to use various computer programmes and modern equipment to make the footballs. We didn’t have experts who could do this job, but we worked really hard and did not compromise on quality. ”
Pakistan used to be the main supplier of footballs around the world for a number of tournaments, including the Fifa World Cup. But for the last 10 years Pakistan lost the business to China, because of lack of Advanced technology in its factories. Sialkot is the fifth largest economic center of the country and it is the world’s largest producer of hand-sewed footballs.
Brazilian Ambassador Alfredo Leoni said: “It was a matter of great pride that the World Cup footballs were provided by a Pakistani company, giving Pakistan a connection with the global contest.”
Critics declared the Brazuca as the most tested ball Adidas has ever produced. It took the company mainly two years to design and test the ball. It was examined in 10 different countries, across three continents by more than 600 players and 30 teams. The Brazuca was tested by teams including Argentina and Spain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea and current players such as Messi and Casillas.
Brazuca has received positive reviews from many of the players. Four-time world player of the year Messi said: “My first impression of the ball is that it’s really good.”
It is estimated that over 42 million soccer balls have been distributed all over the world ahead of the FIFA Football World Cup 2014.