00:01This factory produces more than 2 million footballs a year.
00:08And right before the World Cup, demand explodes all across Sialkot.
00:13A city in Pakistan that makes about 70% of the world's footballs.
00:19But only a small percentage of the roughly 1,000 factories here are FIFA certified
00:25because they need to meet some of the toughest standards in sports manufacturing.
00:31For Bola Gema, that means serious precision at every step.
00:36All the way from molding rubber, to dyeing the sheets, cutting up the panels, and finally stitching the ball.
00:44We have skills required in this space.
00:48And we can make the skills of perfection.
00:50We can make proper volume.
00:52We went inside one of the largest factories that's racing to meet global demand
00:58and cash in on football's biggest moment.
01:04Melting rubber is the first step of producing footballs at Bola Gema.
01:10This is a mixing machine.
01:12We put raw materials in it.
01:14Then we make a feeding rule in rubber.
01:17They cut the rubber sheets into the proper size and measure their thickness.
01:22After that, they leave them in a temperature-controlled room to set for 24 hours.
01:27Then the rubber is cut and shaped to form the bladder, which is the inner core of the ball.
01:35Workers inflate this and leave it in steam machines to solidify.
01:40One mistake here can ruin the entire ball, because the bladder determines the shape, bounce, and overall performance.
01:49That's why Mohamed Shaqeel Bhatt checks them at each step of the production process.
02:02The bladders for professional-grade balls go through one more step.
02:06They're wrapped in strips of fabric and tightly wound with nylon thread to lock in the shape and size.
02:14The external layer of the ball is produced in another part of the factory, using massive machines that combine foam,
02:22fabric, and synthetic polymers.
02:25The new material is dyed into different colors.
02:28The entire bonding process is called lamination, and it makes the shell of the ball waterproof and rugged.
02:36The last time, we didn't have a lamination plant.
02:39We had to use lamination materials to our vendors.
02:43Now, we made the lamination plant in-house and produced in-house.
02:48Workers cut those sheets into the panels that will eventually form the balls.
02:54Some of the designs are added in an old-school way, through screen printing.
02:58Where there are more colors, we do digital printing.
03:02Where there are more colors, we do digital printing.
03:02Where there are more colors, we do screen printing.
03:04It's a faster process.
03:07Traditionally, footballs are made of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons.
03:11Years ago, the factory would hand-stitch them together.
03:16After stitching, it's art.
03:17If you're sculpting the ball, the roundness will be better.
03:29So, to scale up, Bola Gema started using sewing machines.
03:33These days, they produce at least three kinds of balls.
03:37First, there are these machine-stitched, entry-level balls.
03:41They can make as many as 6,000 a day.
03:52Once the bladder is inserted, workers cinch it up by hand.
04:03Then they've got the semi-professional balls.
04:06The highest quality, professional-grade balls are joined together using a different technique,
04:22called thermal bonding.
04:24And while it sounds complicated, the first few steps are all done simply by hand.
04:29First, workers line the edges of each panel with a super strong fabric glue.
04:36Piecing them together is like a puzzle.
04:38They refer to a diagram and join them.
04:42Next, the shell is placed in this machine,
04:45where the panels are bonded with the bladder using heat.
04:50This process has been used to make World Cup balls since 2006.
04:58Workers check the weight to make sure it meets the FIFA standard of 410 to 445 grams.
05:05To keep things fair, all balls should weigh the same.
05:09If they're too light, they could easily be pushed around by the wind.
05:12If they're too heavy, they would be difficult for players to control and could even hurt them.
05:19That's why Bola Gema has a lab where they run select samples through a series of performance tests.
05:25When the sample is ready, we test the machine on the machine.
05:29The machine shoots a football at about 50 km an hour up to 2,000 times to make sure it
05:41maintains its shape and stitching.
05:44Whatever the process is, we can see the quality together.
05:48If we skip the quality anywhere,
05:51then it will become a big blunder.
05:55It will be a big mistake in front of us.
05:56And the factory can't afford any mistakes.
06:00Because the next step is getting a four-year license from FIFA.
06:04The initial cost for that is about $25,000.
06:08It includes advanced royalty fees paid to FIFA.
06:11But if Bola Gema sells more balls than expected,
06:15they have to pay an additional $2 per ball for the top quality models.
06:20Then there's a long list of other hidden costs too,
06:24like joining the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.
06:27That's around a $1,900 annual fee.
06:31And buying mandatory insurance.
06:33That's another $1,800 a year.
06:50Bola Gema also has to send samples for testing to one of FIFA's labs in the UK, Germany or Switzerland,
06:57which costs them $3,500.
07:14And to keep that license active,
07:21the factory needs to conduct an independent audit every year,
07:25which costs them around $10,000.
07:28Still, that license can be revoked at any time if FIFA finds mistakes.
07:33They perform random quality checks on licensed balls
07:36by picking them up at retail stores and testing them.
07:40Being certified doesn't mean these balls are headed to the World Cup.
07:44But major brands and sponsors are now more likely to order from this factory.
07:49And that can transform the business.
07:52Bola Gema sells more than a million extra balls during a World Cup year.
07:57And with around half of FIFA's certified manufacturers located in Sialkot,
08:03the city is cashing in big time.
08:06The industry here dates back long before the World Cup.
08:10In the late 19th century, local artisans began making balls for British colonists,
08:15a skill rooted in Sialkot's long history of leather craftsmanship.
08:34Today, roughly 8% of the city's population works in football production.
08:39But the sport isn't very popular in Pakistan, even among folks who work at Bola Gema.
08:45So we are not going to watch, but not playing.
08:48I also play cricket.
08:50Just in the case of cricket, like Pakistan,
08:52I think 99% of the cricket play.
08:55I play badminton.
08:57It's a hard time for you.
09:00If you play with your friends,
09:02then you play badminton.
09:05Even badminton rackets are made in Sialkot,
09:08which is considered the sporting goods capital of the world.
09:14After the finishing touches, workers deflate the balls and pack them.
09:18None of their stock is sold in Pakistan.
09:21It's exported across Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S.,
09:25where tariffs have made it hard to do business.
09:27It's a wire.
09:28It's to pay 19% of the sports wall.
09:31It's unnecessary.
09:33It's not a necessary item.
09:37So the American market has a lot of affected.
09:44The factory sells the lowest quality mini balls
09:47at a wholesale price of about $2 each,
09:51while the highest quality FIFA-licensed balls
09:53go for around $25.
09:56For Bola Gema, there's just a 10% profit margin.
10:00The real money is made later in the supply chain,
10:03when footballs like these sell at sports stores
10:06for a higher price tag of nearly $200.
10:09And with football still the world's most popular sport,
10:14Bola Gema doesn't see business slowing down anytime soon.
10:26After labouring over each cut, stitch, and quality check,
10:32the team finds joy in seeing the final product.
10:35After a while, when you have a football,
10:39it's a very good feeling.
10:41It's like a newborn baby.
10:44It's very good.
10:45Our homegrown product is a homegrown product.
10:46When our homegrown product is played in the world,
10:49when the name of Pakistan comes,
10:50it's a very good feeling.
10:52And it's really happy.
10:54You'll be happy.
10:55But, as always,
10:55we'll be happy.
10:55You want to be happy.
10:55We'll be happy.
10:55We'll be happy.
10:56Have a happy wedding.
10:57Amen.
10:59Happy wedding.
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