The ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is giving goosebumps to every fan with the spectacular performances seen in the matches, especially dominance by the Asian regions like Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Iran who have won their matches against the big teams.
Pakistan may not have qualified for the World Cup but the football, from the city of Shaheens, is ruling the world football. Pakistan has manufactured footballs in the 2014, 2018 and now in 2022 for the third consecutive World Cup in Qatar. Just like always, the host of the world’s most popular event names the ball according to their tradition. This time Arabs have named the footballs, AL RIHLA.
It is manufactured in Pakistan by Adidas through a company in Sialkot named ‘Forward Sports’, which produces over 750,000 balls per month to global brands. ‘AL RIHLA’ means ‘The Journey’ in Arabic. The name is referred to a travelogue written by the famous Ibn-e-Battuta, who explored Asia, Europe and Africa in the 14th century. AL RIHLA is the first world cup ball to be made exclusively with water based inks and glues. The colourful ball describes the culture, architecture, iconic boats and the flag of Qatar.
The ball consists of a CRT core which provides speed, accuracy and consistency for fast paced action and precision. The speed shell in the ball is a textured polyurethane skin with a new 20-piece panel shape, improving accuracy, flight stability and swerve and includes a sensor in the middle to help decide offside calls. Sialkot is a renowned city of Pakistan for manufacturing international export level sports equipment.