It’s not a hidden fact that two-thirds of the world’s footballs are made in Sialkot, including the Adidas Al Rihla, the official ball of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. But, unfortunately, the Sialkot football workers who put in long hours and sew the panels of the balls by hand are paid only $0.75 per football, which is actually a very less amount for a product that sells at $165 in the Adidas store.
Sialkot Football Workers are Living Hand to Mouth
According to a report by an international news outlet, Sialkot football workers make about Rs160 ($0.75) per ball, which takes three hours to finish. A sticker roughly makes around Rs.10,000 per month which is way less than the actual cost of the living wage in Sialkot, which is close to around Rs.20,000 or even more.
The laborer population in Sialkot factories includes a huge number of women who are the sole breadwinners of their families. After working for long hours these women have to go home to look after a family. On average, around 40 million footballs are manufactured and exported globally while the amount of footballs and working hours increase during Worldcup and it is when the sales peak.
Pakistani Men and Women Footballers Receiving Equal Pay
On the other hand, if we talk about international footballers they are being paid millions but in Pakistan, women, and men footballers are also paid massive amounts by the federation. Recently, Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Normalization Committee (NC) has decided to pay equal wages to the men and women of the national football teams. As per the details, both men and women will be paid $150 for each international matchday and $75 for non-matchdays.
Also read: Saudi Government Declares Public Holiday to Mark Worldcup Victory Over Argentina
