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